Woes of the Moon
by Raei
Summary: Remus Lupin has never experienced love other then that of his mother. When he starts to feel different towards a certain marauder, things rapidly change - but for the better or worse? Only time will Tell. (RL-SB, Slash)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters, I simply own how I interptreted their personalities and what they say. All the characters exct. belong to JK Rowling.

* * *

"First Years this way!" Professor McGonagall was guiding the shivering new students through the doorway into the Great Hall for the sorting – it had been raining.  
  
"I am so glad that we're not in their shoes. I was so freaked out when I walked through those doors and looked up." Remus smiled as he looked at James.  
  
"Yeah I kept thinking that the candles were going to fall or drip hot wax down my shirt." James spoke as he widened his eyes.  
  
"You'd only be so lucky." Sirius laughed.  
  
"Hey now, not that I don't mind having wax dripped on me..." James glanced over at Lily and smirked as he leaned in. "It's just that I don't like having it dripped on me when I don't expect it..."  
  
Remus' mouth dropped, Sirius burst out laughing, and Peter sat with a confused look on his face – as he often did.  
  
"You're horrible, Jamie." Remus shook his head laughing as he positioned himself to watch the First Years line up infront of the chair.  
  
"Yeah... I suppose I am. You have to admit though," James leaned towards Remus and smirked. "That you enjoyed the image I painted in your mind."  
  
"BAH!" Remus rolled his eyes and pointed towards the sorting.  
  
James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius were now in their 7th year at Hogwarts, and loving every minute of it.  
  
_**- FLASHBACK -**_  
  
_'We're at the top of the school! BOW DOWN TO US FEEBLE PESANTS!' Sirius pointed and laughed at scared looking First year walking past them on the platform on the way to school.  
  
'YES! It took long enough...' James laughed as the First year ran to her mother's arms – clearly frightened of Sirius's sudden outburst.  
  
'Yeah, but now it's our job to set an example for everyone else...'  
  
'Moony, my dear – get that stick out of your ass and have some fun being king.' Sirius draped his arm around Remus's shoulder. Remus blushed slightly as he looked up into Sirius's eyes.  
  
'Yeah... I suppose that I could have some fun this year...'  
  
'Some fun? You better have just as much as we do Lupin.' James laughed as he pulled the compartment door closed.  
  
'Where did I put my wand?!'  
  
'Loose it again, Peter?' Sirius rolled his eyes as he pulled Peter's wand out of his cloak and waved it infront of his face. 'Next time, check your pocket.'  
  
'Ahhh... Thanks Sirius...'  
  
'If you pass school – it'll be a miracle.' James shook his head.  
  
'Shuddap James...' Peter laughed as the train started to chug towards the school.  
  
**- END FLASHBACK -**_  
  
The sorting had finished, and Gryffindor had gained 12 new people. Dumbledore had let the feast begin without a very long speech. The boys all dumped good amounts of food on their plates except for Remus.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"What? Oh..." Remus looked up into Sirius's eyes and smiled. "Nothing."  
  
"He lies." James smiled as he took a swig of pumpkin juice.  
  
Sirius nodded as he looked at Remus. "He does lie. Tell nice old Sirius what's eating you."  
  
"I was just... It's..." Remus lowered his voice considerably before continuing. "full moon tomorrow."  
  
"Right when we get back to school?"  
  
Remus nodded at Sirius and frowned. "You're all going to come tomorrow night aren't you?"  
  
All three boys nodded as they filled their plates. Remus was glad that they had all discovered how to become Animagi. He had told them back in 4th year that he was a werewolf – and they didn't reject him. When his friends were in their animal forms, Remus didn't tear, scar, and bite himself up as much as he did when he was alone. Infact, since he started to have the company of his friends – he hadn't harmed himself at all, except for when he went home for summer but that was to be expected.  
  
"What're you looking at...?" Remus looked in the direction Sirius was and then back at his friend.  
  
A sly smile spread across his lips as he pointed with his fork at the Slytherin table. "Snape, and Malfoy. You know what that means?"  
  
Remus groaned. "Sirius..."  
  
"Oooohh! I thought they weren't coming back! Oh this is wonderfully good news indeed...! We must start planning right away, Siri." James smiled evilly as he looked at Snape and Malfoy.  
  
"Doesn't it ever get old you two?"  
  
Sirius sat back with a look of absolute horror on his face. "Old? Never! How dare you suggest a thing like that Peter!" Sirius leaned forward and knocked on Peter's head as if it was a door. "Have you finally lost your marbles?"  
  
Peter rolled his eyes and continued to eat. Lily leaned over her plate and threw a well-aimed brussel sprout at James's head.  
  
"Potter!"  
  
"_Jesus_... Yes Evens?" James started to rub his forehead.  
  
"Meet me later."  
  
"Yeah, Yeah... don't throw anymore of those putrid beasts at me again." James said as he threw the brussel sprout back at her earning a look from Dumbledore.  
  
Lily laughed and winked before nodding her head and turning back to her friends. Sirius made a movement like he was using a wip. Remus bit his lips to hold back a laugh, looked down at his plate, and picked at his potatoes.  
  
"Oh shut it. You're just jealous."  
  
"Jealous of you? Never in a million years." Sirius smiled as he drank his pumpkin juice. He looked at Remus and winked. Remus smiled and looked down, his blonde hair fell over his eyes as he ate.  
  
After the meal the four boys made their way to the common room only to be confronted with a door that wouldn't open.  
  
"Aw come on? Please?"  
  
"What's the password?"  
  
"Umm... Fiddylark?"  
  
"No." The Fat Lady laughed at the First year's attempt to remember the password.  
  
Remus stepped forward and stood infront of the Fat Lady. His amber eyes flashed as he smiled. "My gorgeous Lady, the password is Fiddy_lord_."  
  
"Oh goodness..." The Fat Lady blushed, as she swung open. "So charming..."  
  
The first year looked up at him and smiled faintly. "Thank-you... I never would have remembered it."  
  
Remus smiled as he followed the girl into the common room. "S'Ok. I didn't remember the password my first time here either, besides you were really close and that's what counts."  
  
"You're so delightful, Remus." Lily smiled as she linked her arm in his.  
  
"Wha?" he started to blush.  
  
"Those stunning amber eyes, that gorgeous blonde hair..." She reached up and stroked his hair. "It's enough to make any girl swoon."  
  
"Mm... too bad I'm gay then, huh?"  
  
Lily's face went white as he spoke, and her mouth was hanging wide open. But before she could say anything more, James wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "What was that, Remus?"  
  
He smiled. "Not a thing. I'll leave you both alone now so you can 'meet'"  
  
"But – I – Err... See you Remus..." Lily looked at him with her eyes still wide as James smiled and took her hand leading her to the couch.  
  
Remus shook his head as he walked up the stairs, smiling. As he got to the top and turned into the room, he found Sirius lying on his bed.  
  
"Umm... Why are you laying on my bed, Siri?"  
  
"Because... I've decided to annex it from you."  
  
"I think not! That's been my bed for 6 years. I'm not about to let you just take it, not without a fight."  
  
"You wouldn't dare." Sirius sat up and looked into Remus's eyes.  
  
"No... you're right – I wouldn't. So please move?" Remus tilted his head to the side and smiled.  
  
"Yeahhh, Yeah. You know I wouldn't have moved if you didn't pull that look on me."  
  
"Look? What look...?" Remus smiled sweetly as he lay on his stomach on his newly acquired bed. "I have a look?"  
  
"You know, that 'oh I'm such a cute little puppy dog' look. Your eyes get huge and you pout. You know that's the only thing that gets your way when you're with me."  
  
Remus laughed heartily as he watched Sirius lay down in the same position, only on his own bed. "Ahh, well if you weren't such a softy – it wouldn't always get to you."  
  
"Have you ever seen yourself when you look at me like that?"  
  
"Err... Well no."  
  
"Then there's your explanation. It's kind of like this..." Sirius mimicked the look perfectly as he stared at Remus.  
  
Remus's heart started to flutter as he looked at his friend. "Do I really look like that?"  
  
Sirius nodded and sat up. "So you see now why I can't refuse 'the look'?"  
  
Remus sat up as well and smiled with a faint trace of sadness in his voice. "Yeah... I won't look at you again like that then."  
  
"Nah, I like the look. It's hot."  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's hot Remy. If you gave me that look, and asked really pleasantly – I'd have sex with you in a second."  
  
Remus sat there and thought for a second. His cheeks went a light shade of pink as he looked at Sirius. He decided to test out Sirius's theory. "Siri, will you have sex with me please?"  
  
Sirius stood up and walked towards Remus with a small smile on his lips. Remus's heart started to race as he looked up into Sirius's azure eyes. Sirius bent down and hovered dangerously close to Remus's lips before he burst out into laughter.  
  
"That's not nice Siriusss..." Remus looked down and blushed furiously – he thought that he had meant what he said, and that he was really going to start seducing him.  
  
"I know... I'm sorry, but it got you going. I'm going to go shower."  
  
Remus jumped up and spoke before he thought. "Can I come?"  
  
Sirius stopped and stared at the werewolf with a confused look upon his face. "What?"  
  
"Oh..." Remus laughed uncomfortably before sitting down again. "Hah, Um... nothing! I was just kidding." His cheeks were bright red, he was suddenly really glad that the room was quite dark.  
  
"Yea, alright. Be back in a few then. Don't take my bed..." Sirius smiled as he walked out of the room.  
  
Remus flopped down on the bed and groaned '_Why in Merlin's name did I bloody well ask to join him in the shower...? God I'm stupid...'_ Remus had liked Sirius ever since the first moment he saw him. Remus thought back to the first day he met Sirius. His sapphire eyes burned into Remus's, his black hair swayed gently with the wind...  
  
_**- FLASHBACK PART DOS -**  
  
"Hey! I'm Sirius. Sirius Black, who're you?"  
  
"Um... L-Lupin," Remus blushed. "Remus Lupin."  
  
"Well hello Remus." Sirius extended his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you."  
  
"Nice to meet you too...." Remus took Sirius hand and returned the smile.  
  
"Do you want to sit with me on the train? I don't really know anyone else."  
  
Remus was surprised at his bluntness, and nodded as he followed Sirius to an empty cart. "So... where are you from, Remus?"  
  
"From England..."  
  
"Well... yeah. Where abouts?"  
  
"Oh!" Remus looked down and blushed madly. "Just on the outskirts of London..."  
  
"Ahh! Do you like it there? I live in the city."  
  
Remus looked up into the smiling boys eyes. "Mhm... I guess."  
  
Remus lived in the outskirts of London because he was a werewolf. His mother didn't want to chance anyone finding out, or him biting anyone when he had transformed – so she bought a small cottage in the country and did her best to make sure Remus had never hurt anyone. Remus's body was covered in scars.  
  
"Excuse me... Can we sit here?"  
  
Remus and Sirius looked up at the voice. A boy with messy black hair and round glasses was standing at the door smiling. There was a short, plump boy behind him – he looked kind of mousy.  
  
"Sure!" Sirius moved over and patted the seat beside him. "I'm Sirius Black, and this is Remus Lupin." He motioned his arm in Remus's direction.  
  
"Hi." Remus smiled.  
  
"Hello Sirius, Remus... I'm James Potter, to my left – is Peter Pettigrew." Peter smiled and waved.  
  
The Marauders had met, and trouble was about to begin brewing...  
  
**- END FLASHBACK PART DOS**_** -**  
  
Remus's thoughts drifted back to the present time. He looked up and saw Sirius standing beside him in flannel pants.  
  
"Well..." Sirius stretched. "I'm heading to bed."  
  
"Yeah... me too." Remus smiled shortly after he got up to change.  
  
"...Night Remy."  
  
"Night Siri." Remus slid his pajamas on and slipped into his bed smiling. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh... my.... God..." Sirius threw his book bag down and fell on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room. "I never want to go back to classes again..."  
  
"I hate 7th year." James pouted as he sat in the chair facing the small fire.  
  
"Aw guys, I thought you couldn't wait to be the king." Remus smiled as he sat cross-legged infront of the couch that Sirius was laying on.  
  
"I'd rather be prince, back in 1st year then king and in 7th. We already have loads of homework, and we've only been here one ruddy day." Sirius sighed as he started to play with Remus's hair absent-mindedly. Remus smiled and didn't move – he enjoyed it when Sirius paid any kind of attention to him.  
  
"I think I failed the pop quiz..." Peter sighed as he stood and looked into the fire. "Why would she give a pop quiz on the first day of school? It's in-human."  
  
"If you paid attention in last class last year – McGonagall said she was going to be giving us a quiz on the first day back in her class, Peter." Remus was reading his Transfiguration book he spoke without looking up.  
  
"Who pays attention on the last day of school?"  
  
"Remus does." Sirius grabbed Remus under his armpits and hoisted him onto the couch. "I need a pillow."  
  
Remus let out a squeak as he was lifted onto the couch and laughed as Sirius laid his head on his lap. Remus looked down and smiled. "Why didn't you use the one under your feet?"  
  
Sirius lifted his head and looked at the pillow. "It's to far away." He sighed as he laid his head back down again.  
  
"You should both just be a couple already." James laughed.  
  
"Couple? They're a couple?" Peter's eyes went wide as he looked at Remus and Sirius. Remus looked down at his book again trying to hide his pink cheeks.  
  
"No Peter... I was just... Oh forget it." James shook his head. "But seriously – you should just date and get it over with."  
  
"What's wrong with using your best friend as a pillow...?" Sirius looked up at Remus and smiled. "He isn't objecting."  
  
"Only because you would practice your wrath upon me if I did, Siri." Remus laughed as he looked down at Sirius holding his book over his head.  
  
"Too true..." Sirius loved it when Remus used the nickname that he had given him. Whenever he called him 'Siri', his expression always softened and his voice was gentle.  
  
"Awww... look at the happy couple!" Lily smiled as she sat down on James's lap.  
  
"What's with all this couple talk now?" Sirius sat up and crossed his legs running a hand through his silky black hair.  
  
"Well who else hangs all over Remus and lays on his lap?" Lily smiled sweetly as James wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head on her breasts. She moved her arms and put them around his neck. "Just date! It would be so adorable."  
  
Remus and Sirius looked at eachother. They were both blushing. Remus's heart was pounding as he stared into Sirius's eyes. A small smile crept up on his lips as he looked away.  
  
"Remus..."  
  
He looked back over at Sirius and smiled. "Yesm?"  
  
The room was quiet as Sirius spoke. "Will you date me?"  
  
"Wh-" Remus started to breath faster as he looked at Sirius searching for any sign that he was joking. "What...?" Tears that were slowly welling in his eyes choked Remus's already quiet voice.  
  
Sirius leaned over and placed his lips gently on Remus's. Remus froze at the touch, and his eyes were still wide open. Remus had stopped breathing when Sirius ended the kiss. Everyone who was in the room had looks of shock on their faces, and their eyes were all wide. They had all stopped what they were doing when the two boys kissed.  
  
Sirius leaned over kissed Remus again. Since he hadn't been breathing he stole a breath from Sirius. Sirius stopped kissing him and smiled against his lips. He slowly started to force Remus on his back as he climbed on top of him smiling softly.  
  
Remus woke with a start, gasping for air. Remus put his hand to his bare chest and felt his heart beating madly beneath his flesh. Remus gulped for air as he looked over at Sirius. 'It was just a dream... Oh god...' Remus lay down in his bed again and whipped off his covers. The moonlight fell across his abdomen as he lay there causing his lean body to look even paler and his scars to stand out.  
  
"Remy?" Sirius woke up when he felt the air from the blankets. "You okay?"  
  
Remus looked over and smiled. "Yeah..."  
  
"Oh... okay... Night then..." Sirius yawned and rolled over.  
  
"Night Siri..." Remus rolled over to face the moon, which was nearly full. Remus sighed heavily as he shut his eyes. 'I don't ever want tomorrow to come...' A silent tear fell down his cheek.

* * *

Sirius woke as the sun fell over his face. He smiled in the early morning and stretched in his bed before rolling over on his side facing Remus. Remus was sleeping very curled up close to his pillow facing him. He smiled as he watched his friend sleep. He watched his chest rise and fall slowly.  
  
It was at this moment that Sirius noticed how many scars Remus had on his body. He sat up and walked slowly towards his friend. He knelt down beside his bed and looked all over Remus's chest and arms. He had a million tiny scars freckling his body. Sirius reached out and touched the longest one on his side. He lightly ran a finger along the length of it. The scar was jagged, and it looked as if it was a bite mark of some kind.  
  
Remus woke with a start to see Sirius leaning at his side touching him. Remus rubbed his eyes with his fists, rolled slightly, rested his arm on his waist, and smiled as he looked at Sirius. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I was looking at your scars... I never have before. It doesn't bug you does it?"  
  
Remus's eyes closed slightly as he smiled. "No."  
  
Sirius smiled and stood up. "I won't do it again though, I was just... err... really interested in them for a minute – I don't know why."  
  
Remus stopped smiling and looked up. Sirius's hair had fallen over his eyes as he looked down. "No one ever touches me... I don't want you to become one of those people, Siri."  
  
Sirius smiled and sat down beside him. Remus sat up and hugged his knees. "I won't." He placed a gentle hand on Remus's knee. "I promise." Remus smiled and a tear ran down his cheek. He hurriedly wiped it away.  
  
"What's wrong, Remy? Why are you crying? It wasn't me was it?" Sirius leaned in closer; his face was full of worry.  
  
Remus laughed quietly. "No... It wasn't. You never make me sad. It's just... I hate being me..." His eyes filled with tears again as he placed his head on his knees trying to hide his tears.  
  
"Remy..." Sirius came forward and wrapped his arms around his shaking friend he was quiet for a while before he spoke. "Please don't cry Remy..." Sirius held Remus away from him and smiled. "I don't hate who you are, Remy. I ..." He stopped himself before continuing. "You're my best friend; you're a wonderful person. Being a werewolf doesn't change any of that. It doesn't change our friendship. I'll be here for you all the time, you know that."  
  
Remus smiled and nodded. "Thanks... This is so stupid. I shouldn't cry..."  
  
"Well if you didn't cry, you wouldn't be Remus."  
  
Remus smacked his arm and laughed. "Shut-up."  
  
"Hey, I was only saying the truth mate."  
  
"Yeah... I know – that's why I want you to shut-up."  
  
The boys laughed and Sirius promptly jumped onto James's bed to wake him up. "Get up Miss. Potter! It's time for the first day of school! Get up, get up, get up!"  
  
"Mmmf.... Go away...."  
  
"Never! Wake up! You too Peter!" Sirius laughed as he pulled the pillow out from underneath James. His head hit the mattress with a dull thud.  
  
"Give me my pillow back!"  
  
"Hmmm... No!" Sirius held it over his head and Remus grabbed it throwing it back at James. "Hey... no fair – he intercepted."  
  
"Just get up James. Next time I'm not giving back the pillow. For all I care – Sirius can hit you until you wake up." Remus smiled as he walked towards his trunk and found his freshly washed uniform.  
  
"Yeah, Yeah..." James sat up and stretched. He then lay down again and smacked Peter's stomach. "Get up."  
  
Peter sat up straight. "Yep... I'm up... I'm up..." His eyes were still half closed as he swung his legs over the side of his bed rubbing his face.  
  
The boys all got ready quickly grabbed their book bags and headed to the great hall for lunch. Lily caught up to them just as they were closing the portrait door.  
  
"Nice of you to wait for me."  
  
"Ahh... Sorry Lily, I was momentarily guided by my hunger than by my drive to wait for you...?" James winced as she narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"Yeah, Yeah. I should know by now that hunger is more powerful than love, shouldn't I?" She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Morning."  
  
"Morning!" He kissed her back and slipped his hand into hers.  
  
Breakfast was composed of many different things. Sirius chose the French toast and bacon with orange juice, Peter chose bacon, eggs, toast, and pumpkin juice, James took the same that Sirius did, and Remus the cereal, and orange juice.  
  
"Why aren't you eating a lot?"  
  
"Oh, just not really hungry today." Remus smiled at Peter and took a mouthful of cereal into his mouth.  
  
Sirius sat eating his French toast and watched Remus. He loved the way his jaw moved, it was always so graceful even when he spoke. He watched him lightly run his fingers through his hair moving it away from his forehead. Remus's skin was flawless and soft. Sirius looked at his eyelashes – they were the same color as his hair and it looked as if they were barely there at all. Remus looked up to reveal his amber eyes. They were a base color of honey, with small flecks of gold and white throughout them. There was also a dark honey color surrounding his pupil and outside of the iris. That only worked to make his eyes even more stunning. A small smile spread across his full lips to reveal his straight, white teeth as he spoke.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What? Oh... Nothing." Sirius blushed as he looked down at his plate.  
  
Remus smiled as Sirius's long dark hair fell over his eyes. Sirius's cheekbones seemed to be perfectly chiseled to match his face. Remus had memorized every curve, dip, and bump in Sirius's body. His skin was a light olive color and it was completely unblemished. He spent some of his nights watching his friend sleep peacefully. In 7 years, Remus knew what almost every part of Sirius's body looked like by memory. His eyes were a deep sapphire, with speckles of white throughout them. Though instead of having a dark rim around his pupil and the edge of his iris – it was a light blue. Remus had been in love with Sirius since 3rd year. Remus looked down at his bowl of cereal just as Sirius lifted his head.  
  
"What do we have first?"  
  
"McGonagall passed me these this morning when I saw her, here..." Remus passed out four timetables to his friends. "We have Potions, Herbology, double Divination, Defense Against The Dark Arts, and Transfiguration."  
  
"Oh whoopee... Mondays are a good day then..." James rolled his eyes as he took the paper and looked it over. "Why do we have to have double Divination today? Can't it wait till Friday?"  
  
"Nope..." Peter sighed as he put down his timetable. "It's designed like that to make us hate school. Its all a big conspiracy against us."  
  
The boys all laughed. "No kidding... Why can't we just get our NEWT's in one day and all become fully-fledged wizards?  
  
"Because Siri, then the teachers lives wouldn't be fulfilling." Remus smiled.  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Well, they wouldn't get to watch you struggle when you try to answer a question to which the answer you have no idea."  
  
"Now, now. I do know the answer to some things..."  
  
"Do you really?"  
  
"....No."  
  
Remus laughed. "What would you do without me?"  
  
"Well... fail school because I wouldn't have any homework help, and become someone who goes to Azkaban for killing muggles?"  
  
"That's not funny, Sirius." Peter looked over at him frowning. "Don't joke about Azkaban."  
  
"Yeah... it's not cool, Sirius." James spoke without looking up.  
  
"Ah come on guys, I was just kidding..." Sirius propped his elbows on the table and looked at his friends. His eyes finally stopped on a smiling werewolf. Remus's smile always calmed him and made all his worries flutter away. He looked up as the bell rang. "Time for class..."  
  
"Yeah..." James picked up his bag and headed in the direction of the door. "Come on, we don't want to be late..." Everyone nodded and followed him to the door.  
  
Sirius walked up beside James and only spoke when they were far enough ahead of his other friends and they were out of earshot. "James?"  
  
He turned and looked at Sirius. "Yeah?"  
  
"Do you ever worry about Remus...? When he transforms?"  
  
"... All the time." James dropped his head and looked at the ground as they walked.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I always worry that he'll die or... that he'll kill one of us."  
  
"Yeah... me too..."  
  
"...Why did you ask?"  
  
Sirius was quiet and only spoke when they were almost at the Potions class. "Because I thought I was the only one who was... scared shitless of... of loosing him." Sirius was staring at the ground with a blank expression on his face.  
  
James put a friendly hand to his shoulder but didn't speak. Remus came up behind them and stood with a large smile on his face. He looked at his friends' faces and his smile soon faded.  
  
"What's wrong...?"  
  
Sirius looked up and smiled. "Nothing."  
  
"Yeah, its nothing." James spoke as he took his hand off his friends shoulder.  
  
"You're sure?" Remus tilted his head towards them and furrowed his eyebrows. Sirius and James nodded quickly and smiled. "Okay... let's get in there and get our table then."  
  
"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Sirius smiled as Remus and Peter passed by them. James and Sirius looked at eachother one last time before heading into the classroom. 


	3. Chapter 3

"As only some of you will actually remember this," Professor McGonagall looked over at Remus. "That we have a pop quiz today regarding last year. Just to make sure that you have all been doing homework over your summer holidays – and everything that I taught you wasn't lost to the abyss known as the teenage mind." She smiled slightly and passed out the papers. "Please finish these as quickly as you can, I'd like to start work on today's lesson."  
  
Remus's breath caught in his throat when McGonagall said, "pop quiz". _'Is my dream coming true...? What am I going to do if Peter tells me he failed it...? Oh god...'_ Remus looked down at his sheet of paper. He read through all the questions and the answers came flying back to him. He was finished before anyone else, and sat quietly in his desk waiting for everyone else to finish. Something brushed up against Remus's leg, when he looked over Sirius blushed.  
  
'Sorry...' he whispered without looking up from his test. Remus caught his eyes and smiled.  
  
"How many of you are finished?" McGonagall looked over her glasses. Nearly the whole class raised their hands. "Very well. Please will the rest of you kindly hurry?" She looked back down at the stack of papers she was marking.  
  
From the corner of his eye, Remus saw Sirius cover his head with his hands and sigh. Remus looked at his test, trying to find the problem. Once he saw that Sirius had finished everything correctly but was having troubles with the last question, Remus flipped over his paper and lightly nudged Sirius's foot. Sirius looked over at him with a puzzled look on his face. He watched Remus flick his eyes towards his paper and back at him. Sirius smiled and put his hands back in the position they were before, but looked over at Remus's paper copying the answer. Sirius was suddenly glad that his hair nearly covered his eyes when he looked down.  
  
"Quills down, please bring the quiz's up to the front, take your seats and your wands out." McGonagall stood up and watched everyone come forward. Sirius and Remus walked towards her desk together. Remus smiled at her as he placed his test down on top of Sirius'. She smiled back.  
  
On the way back to their seats, Sirius nudged Remus with his elbow lightly. "Hey... Thanks."  
  
"No problem. You had every other answer right – I didn't see a reason why I shouldn't help you." Remus smiled sweetly as they sat down again.  
  
"The answers were really all right?"  
  
Remus nodded and smiled as he bent over to take out his wand. "Yup."  
  
"Wow..." Sirius sat back and ran his hand through his hair.  
  
Remus placed his wand on the table. He started to look around the classroom waiting for everyone to settle. His eyes found a picture of the moon and its phases. His heart suddenly felt like it plumited down to his feet as he looked at the picture. Remus slowly blinked his eyes and looked back at his desk.  
  
"What's wrong?" Sirius had his arms crossed and rested them on the table.  
  
"Tonight."  
  
"We'll all be there with you Remy, you won't be alone." Sirius smiled and placed a soft, warm hand on Remus's arm. "It'll be okay." Sirius smiled kindly at his friend. His eyes were soft as he looked at him.  
  
"Thanks." Remus smiled back. At that moment – he felt the biggest urge to grab Sirius in his arms and kiss him. He knew that he could never do that. Remus's heart ached for Sirius in a way that it never had before. All he wanted to do was fall into his arms, and stay with him forever – never letting go. Remus sighed and looked at Professor McGonagall who was already talking about that day's lesson. Remus vaguely tuned out what she was saying and became lost in his own thoughts. He felt like the love that he felt towards Sirius was only growing, it was like some kind of incurable disease. _'If I could have one wish... I'd wish for Sirius to tell me he loved me...'_ Remus heaved a sigh knowing that it would never come true – but some part of him still left that door open, hoping for his wish to be granted.  
  
Class had ended, and the boys were on their way back to the common room.  
  
"Oh... my.... God..." Sirius threw his book bag down and fell on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room. "I never want to go back to classes again..."  
  
"I hate 7th year." James pouted as he sat in the chair facing the small fire.  
  
Remus stopped dead in his tracks his heart was pounding. _'Don't say it... don't say it...'_  
  
"I think I failed the pop quiz..." Peter sighed as he stood and looked into the fire. "Why would she give a pop quiz on the first day of school? It's in-human."  
  
_'Oh my God.... It's coming true...'_ Remus turned to watch the portrait. It swung open to reveal Lily. _'No, no, no....'  
_  
"Remus, come sit on the couch. I need a pillow." Sirius smiled at him.  
  
Remus went ridged. _'If I sit down... will he ask...?'_ "I can't. I have to go upstairs... and... err... change." Remus quickly smiled and bolted for the stairs. He didn't want to wait to see if it would happen – he couldn't go through that again. He questioned as to why he wouldn't go sit down and let the dream come true. _'I don't want it to happen that way... it can't happen that way...'_ Remus gently placed his bag on the floor and sat on his bed, he put his head in his hands. Remus didn't hear anyone enter the room.  
  
"Remy?"  
  
Remus's heart lurched at the familiar voice. It was Sirius. He looked up slowly. "Yeah?"  
  
"Why didn't you come sit with us for a bit? You okay?"  
  
"Oh... Hah... yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to change before tonight... and maybe get some work done before I have to go see Madam Pomfrey." Remus smiled weakly as he reached for his bag. Sirius leaned forward and took Remus's hand stopping him. Remus looked up at him.  
  
"Remus... I'm worried about you."  
  
"Why?" Remus privately delighted at the touch of Sirius's hand on his.  
  
Sirius moved and sat down beside Remus. He was still holding his hand. He traced one of the scars on his hand while he spoke, looking down the whole time. "I worry about you when you transform. I'm always so scared that you'll hurt yourself really bad when we aren't there." Sirius looked up at him. His eyes were slightly glassy. "I can't stand the thought of loosing you, Remy."  
  
Remus smiled and put his hand to Sirius's cheek. "Don't worry about me, it'll be okay Siri, I'll never leave you." He dropped his hand to hold Sirius'.  
  
Sirius nodded and looked down again. "I know... but I still worry Remy... I worry because I -" Remus noticed a tear fall from his eye and land on his knee. Sirius spoke very quietly; it was barley audible to Remus. Even with his heightened hearing. "I don't want to loose the most perfect, beautiful person I've ever known." Sirius's fingers were still, but they were still entwined with Remus's.  
  
Remus moved his hand and brought up Sirius's head by placing a couple fingers under his chin. Remus ran his fingers along Sirius's lips before moving forward slowly. Sirius didn't move away, instead he leaned in to meet Remus's lips. When they kissed, it was tender and slow. Sirius let go of Remus's hand and ran it up Remus' thigh, and slowly up his side, finding his neck - this careful movement sent a delightful shiver up Remus's back. Remus ran his hand through Sirius's hair – he always loved the feel of it. Remus broke the kiss and brought Sirius into a hug. He held him close and breathed into his ear.  
  
"Siri... I'll never leave you... I love you too much to leave you." Remus felt Sirius take in a sharp breath of air at the words before he wrapped his strong arms around Remus's thin waist, holding him tightly.  
  
Sirius spoke gently. "I love you too, Remy..." He breathed in very deeply._ "My Remy..."_ Remus felt tears on his neck and leaned back looking into Sirius's eyes.  
  
"Don't cry, Siri..." He wiped away the tears that had fallen from his beautiful eyes and smiled. "I love you."  
  
Sirius smiled and looked down before he met Remus's gentle gaze. "I love you too." The boys leaned in for another kiss and didn't notice that James was standing in the doorway. James smiled at his friends and turned to walk down the stairs again.  
  
"I thought you needed to get something, James?" Lily frowned as she watched him walk down the stairs with nothing in hand.  
  
"Nah... I just remembered that I didn't really need it."  
  
"Did you forget where it was?" Lily smiled as stood up, giving James his seat back.  
  
"No. I know where it is... I just don't need it." He took Lily's hand and pulled her onto his lap as he sat down. "I love you, Lily."  
  
Lily smiled warmly and wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in, resting her forehead on his. Her hair fell all around them, seeming to cut them off from everyone else in the room. "I love you too, James." She leant in and kissed him.

* * *

Remus made his way down to the womping willow accompanied by Madam Pomfrey. He was still relishing the fact that Sirius had returned his love, and he finally knew what it was like to kiss him. He wore a smile on his face as he walked. He hardly noticed when Madam Pomfrey had started to talk to him.  
  
"Remus? ...Remus!"  
  
"Oh... Sorry Ma'am." Remus looked over at her.  
  
"I'm going to have to leave you hear dear, I've got a ton of things to do back at the school. I'm terribly sorry... but will you be able to find it on your own?"  
  
"Sure I will. I've been coming here nearly every month for 7 years Madam Pomfrey. I'll be fine." Remus smiled as she placed a gentle hand in his arm.  
  
"Good... I'll be back early tomorrow morning to come fetch you okay?"  
  
Remus nodded happily as he made his way towards the tree which had been frozen. He stopped for a second and surveyed his surroundings. He watched Madam Pomfrey make her way back to the school. She looked back a couple of times and waved. Remus stood for a moment longer, looking for his friends. He decided that they would come later, once he had transformed. Remus glanced quickly at the sun, which was quickly falling behind the mountains. He looked to his right and spotted the moon. It was a light blue color, still not fully visible. He sighed as he ducked under the tree. He slowly made his way to the Shrieking Shack. He traveled along the familiar pathway, kicking at a few rocks as he walked. Remus had made it to the shack, and found the room he had always gone to. Remus stood at the doorway and looked around. The room had been shredded, the blankets were all torn and most of them had dry blood stains everywhere. The cabinets were hanging on by a single hinge, and were torn apart as well. Remus sighed heavily as he walked over to the window. The moon was nearly visible now, it was only a few more minutes until the light of the moon would cascade through the window and shroud the room. Remus took off his jacket and folded it up, putting it on the highest cabinet in the room. He quickly removed his shoes, shirt and pants. He stood before the window staring at the moon. Remus felt a shudder of coldness as he took off his boxers. He then gathered all his clothing up, folded it, and placed it all on top of his jacket.  
  
Remus crouched in the middle of the floor, waiting for the moon to shine on him. He watched the line of light slowly come towards him. _'5...4...3...2...1...'_ The light touched his toes and crept slowly up his pale, scarred thigh. Remus stood up and let the moon's light cover his body. He took a deep breath and braced himself for the transformation. He felt his bones start to grow and change shape. There were sickening pops as his feet turned into paws. Remus screamed in pain as his back started to widen and his body shape began to alter. Remus shut his eyes tightly as his face began to turn into a long thin snout. When he transformed – every inch of his body was in searing pain. His bones changed shape, and his skin stretched to accommodate them. It felt as if his insides were burning.  
  
He stood in the light of the moon whimpering. Remus collapsed onto the floor. His body felt like it had been crushed underneath a vast amount of weight. Remus looked towards the door, and listened for his friends. No noise came. The werewolf got up slowly into a sitting position infront of the door. As he bowed his head, he heard the familiar scratch of feet on the wood downstairs. He raised his head and saw Sirius come through the door slowly. His ears were pinned back and his tail was between his legs. He sniffed the air as he slowly walked forward. The werewolf stood up and licked the side of the scruffy black dog's face carefully. Sirius began to wag his tail as he stood with his friend. In time, James appeared – as a stag, and Peter – as a rat.  
  
The hours of the night passed, and the light of the moon began to wane. His friends noticed this, and retreated from the house. Sirius stayed behind, and hid. When his friends left him, Remus began to change his form once again. He thrashed around the room – trying to make the pain go away, he cut himself many times in the process. Sirius waited until he heard the roaring and whimpering cease before he transformed back into a human. Sirius rushed up the stairs and opened the door. He found Remus laying naked on the floor of the room curled into a fetal position. He was bleeding from many places, and his hair was matted down with sweat. Sirius took the coat off his back and walked slowly towards him, kneeling down on the ground. He gently turned Remus around and wrapped his arms around the trembling boy.  
  
"I'm here Remy... You're okay..." Sirius brushed away his friends hair as he placed his jacket over his naked body. Sirius leaned down and kissed his forehead.  
  
Remus smiled and lay silently in his arms. His body ached, and he couldn't find the strength to move his arms and hold Sirius. Tears started to fall from Remus's eyes.  
  
"Remy... you okay...?"  
  
Remus looked up tiredly with defeated eyes. His eyes weren't shining like they always did – they were dull and filled with pain. He tried to nod but only managed to let his head fall to his chest. Remus passed out. Sirius leaned over him and wiped his hair away from his face and kissed his forehead again. Remus had only before passed out twice from the pain this was the third time it happened.  
  
Madam Pomfrey came through the door and swiftly fell to Remus's side. "Is he alright?"  
  
"He's passed out..." Sirius spoke quietly as he brushed his fingers across Remus's cheek.  
  
"Okay... I need you to wrap your coat gently around him nice and tight, and I'll have to levitate him to the infirmary. Can you do that for me?"  
  
"Can I carry him there? It'll be to difficult to wrap it around him." Sirius looked up with hopeful eyes.  
  
Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Very well. I'll get his clothing then, but we must hurry. He needs treatment."  
  
Sirius nodded and took Remus in his arms. He held on to the boy tightly as they made their way back to the school. It was still quite dark out as they made their way back to the school.  
  
"Put him on that bed there, at the far end of the hall behind the curtain."  
  
"Okay..." Sirius began to walk towards the destination set for him. Once he got there, he gently laid Remus on the mattress. Sirius sat in the chair beside the bed and softly wiped the hair away from his eyes as he lightly kissed his lips. Remus stirred and opened his eyes.  
  
"Siri...." Remus smiled faintly and looked into the eyes he loved so much.  
  
Sirius placed his finger across Remus's lips. "Shh... Madam Pomfrey will be here soon to help you."  
  
Remus nodded and closed his eyes still smiling. Remus was exhausted; he nearly fell back asleep again before he heard the familiar click of Madam Pomfrey's heels. He opened his eyes again and looked over at Sirius. He smiled. "I love you, Siri."  
  
Sirius looked down at him. "I love you too." He leaned forward to kiss his lips. Remus may have been tired, but he wasn't so tired that he couldn't return the kiss. Sirius stood as Madam Pomfrey appeared beside the bed.  
  
"He'll need his rest now, and you have classes to attend. You can visit him at lunch, all right? I need to heal him now."  
  
Sirius nodded and ran his hand from Remus's shoulder to his fingers. Remus curled his fingers slightly and hooked them with Sirius's smiling. Sirius looked down and grinned before he disappeared behind the dividing curtain.  
  
Remus closed his eyes and welcomed the warm tingling sensation. He was happy that his wounds wouldn't be throbbing with pain any longer. He felt cold as Madam Pomfrey tugged the jacket off of his body and hung it on the chair that Sirius had been sitting in. He was hazily aware that he was naked. Though he soon felt the warming sensation from the healing, he also felt the weight of a blanket over his body.  
  
"I need you to drink this please." Madam Pomfrey smiled. "It's a sleeping potion."  
  
Remus nodded and opened his mouth. The light blue liquid fell over his full pink lips and slid down his throat. The potion made him feel oddly warm as it settled in his stomach. Remus closed his eyes and welcomed the expected sleep. 


	4. Chapter 4

Sirius sat in the Divination class looking blankly into the crystal ball infront of him desperately trying to see something other than swirling smoke. He took a sip of his tea.  
  
"I think I see something!"  
  
Sirius looked up at James; his eyes were wide as he looked into the crystal. "Do you really see something?"  
  
"Yeah! I see... I see..." James bent down and looked closely at the ball. "I see nothing. Damnit!"  
  
Sirius laughed and shook his head. "I thought so."  
  
James looked over the top of the crystal ball and at Sirius. "Hey... how's Remus doing?"  
  
"He's fine. Sleeping I suppose."  
  
"Oh... you stayed behind. Why'd you stay behind? He could have hurt you... what did Pomfrey say?"  
  
"I stayed to make sure he was okay. Remus wouldn't have hurt me. Pomfrey didn't ask me why I was there – she didn't seem to care. She was preoccupied with Remus." Sirius answered the questions in the order they were asked, speaking in a low voice.  
  
"Oh. Can we go see Remus at lunch?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think I'm going to go."  
  
"What for? He'll miss not seeing you."  
  
"I spent a lot of time with him this morning. He'll be fine. I'll talk to him tonight when he gets out."  
  
James narrowed his eyes at Sirius. He wondered why he wasn't going to go see his friend, and why he was acting like he was. "You okay?"  
  
"What?" Sirius looked up at him and ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah... yeah I'm fine." He blinked his azure eyes, leant to his right, and poked Peter in the side. "You see anything?"  
  
Peter yelped as his side was prodded at and answered as he rubbed his side. "No... If I do see anything all it is, is smoke. Maybe it's warning us of weather changes or something. This is so dumb..."  
  
Sirius laughed. "We could use a good rain. You should tell Trelawny that you see a weather change in your crystal ball and see what she says."

"No! No Sirius I couldn't do that."  
  
"If you won't I will." Sirius smiled at Peter's complaint and raised his hand as he spoke. "Professor, I see something!" Sirius looked over at James, then Peter smirking.  
  
"Do you! What do you see?" Professor Trelawny abandoned the student she was speaking with, and hurried over to him. The class's attention was focused on Sirius and Professor Trelawny.  
  
"I see swirling clouds that look like thunder heads. I think that it means we're going to have a serious weather change soon."  
  
Professor Trelawny smiled widely and looked down into the crystal ball. "You're right Mr. Black! I believe this is the first correct prediction of the year! Very good!" The class rolled their eyes and continued their work. Sirius beamed as he looked back at Peter who was scowling at him, and winked.  
  
He looked back at the Professor and raised his eyebrows as she spoke. She had picked up his empty teacup and lowered her voice her smile had faded. "Sirius dear... you see this?" Trelawny pointed to a shape at the bottom of the cup. Sirius bent over and looked in. He saw nothing but a pile of dark leaves. "This means that something horrible will happen to the one you love..."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"What I mean Sirius," Trelawny set the cup down gently and looked into his eyes. She was serious as she spoke. "Is that something horrible will happen to the person that you love, and you will be powerless to stop it."  
  
"Okay..." Sirius looked at James smirking. James's face was solemn as he met the gaze of his friend. Sirius's smile faded as Trelawny walked away. "You don't believe her do you, James?"  
  
"She wouldn't kid about something like that." James held Sirius's eyes for a moment longer before looking down into his book. He placed the book infront of Sirius and picked up his teacup. "You see this?" Sirius nodded as James pointed to the same shape Trelawny had. "And here..." He pointed to the picture on the page. "Read it."  
  
Sirius smiled and shook his head as he looked down at the book. _'The Scissors: quarrels, illness, separation of lovers.'_ Sirius's heart began to pound as he looked up. "Quarrels, illness and separation of lovers? What-"  
  
James leaned forward and spoke quietly. "I know about you and Remus. I saw you."  
  
Sirius turned his head and looked down. "So you think this has to do with Remus and I?"  
  
"It has to... there isn't anyone else that you love. I don't mean love as in family or friends Sirius. It has to be Remus."  
  
Sirius leant back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. "It can't be. We're not together... I just said that in the moment..."  
  
"Sirius... you never say things you don't mean."  
  
The bell had just rung; Sirius packed up his books and gave James one last look before heading towards the door. James watched Sirius's robes disappear and shook his head. He didn't know why Sirius had just denied feeling anything other than brotherly love towards Remus. Maybe he was scared that people would find out that he was gay. He had told James a long time ago that he was gay, but he kept dating girls – and never letting the truth be known. James had constantly tried to tell him that it was all right to be gay, and to stop chasing girls. Sirius's response had always been the same; _"James... forget it. You don't understand",_ and he would walk away.  
  
James shook his head and packed his things away, waving at Peter as they left for lunch. "Lets go up and see Remus for a while."  
  
Peter smiled. "Sure! But isn't Sirius coming?"  
  
"...No."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because he said he'll see him later. That doesn't matter, lets go so we can still have something to eat before next class starts."  
  
Peter nodded and followed his friend to the infirmary. When they got there, Madam Pomfrey told then that Remus was awake, and that he was behind the curtain at the very end to the right. They smiled in thanks and walked towards their friend.  
  
Remus's ears perked when he heard multiple footsteps coming towards him. He smiled broadly as he saw James and Peter appear from behind the curtain. "James! Peter!" He welcomed a hug from both of them. "How are you both?"  
  
"Oh I'm alright." James smiled as he sat down.  
  
"I'm good!" Peter stood beside James and smiled.  
  
"That's great! Where's ..." Remus looked behind them expectantly.  
  
"He's not coming."  
  
"Not coming? Why isn't he coming James?"  
  
"He said he would see you tonight when you got out of here." James offered him a small smile as he handed him a small chunk of chocolate – Remus's favorite.  
  
Remus took the chocolate and smiled. "Oh... Okay." He looked down and picked at the chocolate with his fingernails, he didn't eat it.  
  
"How're you though?" Peter broke the silence.  
  
Remus looked up. "What? Me? Oh... I'm alright."  
  
"Did you get any cuts this time...? We didn't stay behind."  
  
"Yeah, but Madam Pomfrey cleaned them up for me. I'm fine now though... I really want to get out of this bed. She won't let me get up incase I'm not 'fully healed' yet." Remus rolled his eyes and crossed his legs.  
  
"That's stupid... figure we can smuggle you out of here?" James looked around the room with a sly smile on his face.  
  
"Well, actually – I've been thinking about that for a while... if you stun Pomfrey, Peter creates a distraction – and we make a run for it, we'll be out of here. I only need to change." Remus leaned forward and spoke quietly.  
  
James and Peter burst into laughter. "We're a bad influence on you, Moony." James shook his head as he pat his friends shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, and what kind of diversion would I create?"  
  
"Take off your pants and run around with them on your head?" James smiled.  
  
"That's not a diversion James," Peter shook his head. "That's a recipe to make people sick."  
  
The boys all laughed. Remus was glad that he had some company for a while; he was beginning to get lonely lying awake hour after hour in the hospital room. His friends had to leave, as there was only a short amount of time left until the bell would ring for lunch and they hadn't eaten yet. James and Peter passed Sirius on their way out. James nodded his head at him but said nothing.  
  
Remus had just lain down again on his side facing away from the curtain screen separating him from everyone else. He stared at the wall and traced the patterns on the stones with his eyes. Sirius walked quietly towards the screen and stopped just as he caught a glimpse of his friend. He took a deep breath and walked towards him. Remus turned around and his face immediately brightened up as he saw Sirius.  
  
"Siri! You came!" Remus sat up in his bed and smiled.  
  
"Yeah..." Sirius ran a hand through his hair and looked at the chair. "I came for my jacket. I left it here last night."  
  
Remus sunk. "Oh... well it's on the chair." He smiled briefly and looked down at his hands.  
  
"Yeah... thanks." He walked over to the chair and picked up his jacket. Remus breathed in as the whoosh of air came at him – it smelled like Sirius. "So... I'll see you later then?"  
  
Remus looked up with sad eyes and forced a smile. "Yeah. Tonight?"  
  
Sirius smiled quickly and nodded his head. "Tonight." He bent forward slightly and then straightened up – realizing his actions. Remus had leant forward as well smiling. When he noticed that Sirius had stopped, he sat back slowly. "See you then, Remus."  
  
Sirius turned to leave and Remus grabbed his free hand. Sirius turned and looked at him. He welcomed the warmness of Remus's hand on his. "I love you Siri." Sirius looked into Remus's golden eyes and smiled faintly before continuing to walk away. Remus didn't let go of his hand. Remus looked from one of Sirius's eyes to the next, his eyebrows were furrowed together. "...Sirius..."  
  
Sirius heart was beating hard, and his vision started to blur as took his hand away from Remus's and disappeared behind the curtain.


	5. Chapter 5

Madam Pomfrey had let Remus leave just as dinner rolled around. Remus had packed all this things and left gratefully. He walked slowly towards the common room still thinking of what had happened between Sirius and himself. He wondered why Sirius seemed so distant all of a sudden. It didn't matter though – all he knew was that what happened between them must have been a dream – or a cruel joke. Remus bumped into someone as he walked. "Sorry."  
  
"It's alright. Will we see you at dinner?" James smiled as he put a hand on his friends shoulder.  
  
Remus looked up and smiled into kind eyes. "Yeah, I'm just going to go put this stuff away, save me a seat?"  
  
"Sure. See you soon." James waved as he walked past his friend.  
  
Remus didn't want to go eat anything he wasn't hungry. Remus made his way to the common room and walked towards the stairs. He walked slowly up the stairs, only to have his knees give away and fall. Strong arms caught him. He hadn't noticed that anyone was coming up behind him. 'I suppose I'm still really weak...' he smiled as he turned to look at his savior.  
  
The person's face was in the shadows, but he recognized the smile right away. His heart fell, as did the corners of his lips. "Thanks Sirius."  
  
"Yeah... you're alright?"  
  
Remus nodded and turned around. "Fine."  
  
"Are you going to be at dinner?" Sirius smiled as he stepped up beside his friend, ready to catch him again if he should fall.  
  
"Yeah, James is saving me a seat." Remus was slightly annoyed with the fact that Sirius was walking beside him up to the dorms.  
  
"Oh... Alright." Sirius ran a nervous hand through his hair and spoke quietly. "Listen... I'm sorry about how I acted when I saw you at lunch."  
  
Remus kept his eyes to the ground as he laid his clothing on his bed. "Yeah."  
  
Sirius came up beside him and took his hand. Remus tried to yank it away, but Sirius's grip was too strong. "I mean it Remy."  
  
Remus turned to look at him. The fading sunlight shone on his pale face, his amber eyes glittered. "It's alright Sirius." He offered a small smile before trying to turn again. Sirius's caught his lips and his body was suddenly being held in a tight embrace. Unawares, Remus fell into the kiss and welcomed the embrace. He opened his lips slightly and allowed Sirius's tongue to caress his. Remus's knees gave away suddenly without his knowledge. Sirius ended the kiss and held onto his friend.  
  
"Remy?" He shook his friend gently. "Remy are you okay?"  
  
Remus opened his eyes and looked around the room. He regained his footing and shook his head; his hair flew gently around his delicate face. He ran his hand though his hair and smiled up at Sirius. "Yeah..." Remus backed up and sat on his bed. "Yeah... I'm fine." Remus tried to ignore the growing pain in his back.  
  
Sirius knelt on the ground before his friend and put his hands on his own knees. "I have to tell you something..."  
  
Remus suddenly felt numb. "...Uh-huh..."  
  
"Today in Divination... Trelawny told me that something horrible would happen to the one I loved, and that I would be powerless to stop it."  
  
"Really..."  
  
"I think she meant you, Remy."  
  
Remus shook his head and smiled sadly. "But... you don't love me, Sirius."  
  
Sirius looked up at Remus and shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "What?"  
  
"You don't love me."  
  
"How can you say something like that? I've just kissed you."  
  
"I know... but if you loved me – you would have said it back when I was in the infirmary instead of leaving me alone." Remus stood up and took his cane in his hand. He walked through the door not letting Sirius say another word. He walked slowly down the stairs and as he got to the entrance of the common room, wiped his eyes with his cloaks sleeve. _'I have to let him go...'_ Remus looked at the ground as he walked, with tears streaming down his cheeks. _'I have to let him go...'_  
  
Sirius sat alone in the room looking blankly at the place that Remus was sitting just moments before. Sirius took in a sharp breath and breathed quickly. "...Remus..." He stood and marched towards the door. He ran down the staircase and saw the portrait close. He rushed towards the portrait and pushed it open. He watched Remus walk away from him. _"REMUS!"  
_  
Remus stopped and turned his head slightly to the left. He watched Sirius come up beside him. He looked up into his beautiful eyes and said nothing.  
  
"Remus... you can't leave like that."  
  
"Can't I?"  
  
"No... you can't. I didn't get to tell you..."  
  
"Tell me what?" Remus looked down at Sirius's trembling hands. He ached to take Sirius's hands in his and stop the shaking. He resisted the urge and instead, crossed his arms.  
  
"Tell you that I love you."  
  
Remus smiled and looked up, shaking his head. "Do you really? Or are you just saying that to keep me from leaving you."  
  
"I'm saying it because I mean it, Remus." Sirius was taken aback by Remus's response. He had never known him to be cruel in that way.  
  
"Then why didn't you say it back in the infirmary, Sirius Black."  
  
Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. Remus had never used his last name when he spoke with him. In the seven years they knew eachother – Remus had never said it once. "I don't know... because-"  
  
"Because you don't love me. Maybe you thought I was kidding when I said it to you that night, but I wasn't Sirius. I've loved you since fourth year. I've loved you so deeply – that it made me get sick when you were upset. It made me want to kill whoever made you cry because they hurt you." Remus let the tears fall down his cheeks. "I would die for you, Sirius. I would do anything for you, as long as you were happy." Remus shook his head and looked down at the ground. Watching his tears fall from his face and splatter to the ground.  
  
Sirius stood in silence as he watched Remus cry. He had no idea that Remus felt that strongly for him. He had no words to describe the way he felt at that moment – nothing he could say would match to what Remus had just revealed. "Remy... I meant it when I told you I loved you." He looked up into Sirius's eyes. "I was scared in the infirmary. I didn't know what I felt was real. I thought it was all a dream because I had been longing for it for so long, and now I finally had it. Remus..."  
  
"Hey! You two weren't at dinner! Where-" James stopped instantly when he saw that Remus had been crying. He looked from Sirius to Remus, and back again. "What did you do to him Sirius?"  
  
Sirius looked slowly over at James. He looked into James's eyes before his gaze traveled back to Remus. His heart began to pound as he placed his hand on Remus's damp cheek and pulled him into a gentle kiss. Sirius's lips lingered millimeters away from Remus's as he took in his warm, sweet breath. Sirius closed his lips and opened his eyes. He looked into Remus's puffy golden eyes and smiled softly before he turned to walk away. Remus took in a quivering breath and watched Sirius' back. He felt his knee grow weaker and shifted his weight. He slowly ran his tongue across his lower lip and sucked it in.  
  
James stood in silence as people began to walk by. He moved to walk towards Remus, but was stopped when Lily took his hand. He stopped and looked into her bright green eyes. When he looked up again, Remus was gone. "Remus..."  
  
"Remus? My name is Lily, James." She smiled as she began to walk.  
  
"No... he's gone."  
  
She stopped and looked at him. "Gone?"  
  
"Yeah... he was just right there." James pointed to the spot that Remus had been standing with a puzzled look on his face. Lily turned to look at the place where James was pointing. She looked back up at James when she saw no one.  
  
"So he walked away, James... Lets go." She tugged on his hand as she walked.  
  
"Yeah... Okay..." James followed her and stole one quick look over his shoulder where he had seen his friends kiss.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the full moon, and Remus was lying in bed when he heard Sirius come into the dorm. At that moment, Remus remembered that he was lying in his boxers because he had been so hot. His body was covered in a light sheen of sweat. Sirius walked slowly towards him and sat on the bed. The weight of Sirius sitting beside him caused his body to fall slightly towards him. Sirius looked down and his eyes traveled down Remus's body, and stopped slightly as he reached Remus' crotch. He quickly looked up and smiled at Remus. He hadn't noticed that Sirius was checking him out.  
  
"Hey."  
  
Remus looked over at his friend and smiled. "Hey." Remus moved to sit up and Sirius pushed him down again with a sturdy hand on his damp chest.  
  
"Stay still."  
  
Remus cocked an eyebrow and his lips curled into a half smile. "Why?" Sirius trailed his hand down Remus's abdomen and stopped at his waistband. Remus looked down at his hand and then back at Sirius. "You can't want to-"  
  
Sirius smiled and removed his hand. He felt the heat from Remus's body. "Of course not. I just want to touch you." Sirius got up and pulled the curtains around Remus's bed shut.  
  
Remus tilted his head to the side. "What for?"  
  
"Remember when you told me that you didn't want me to become one of the people who never touched you?"  
  
Remus sat up and nodded. "Yeah... but Sirius-"  
  
"_Shh_..." He moved and sat down close to Remus. "Lay down." Remus nodded and lay back down again. Sirius muttered a protection spell, so that no one would hear them.  
  
"A protection spell? Sirius-"  
  
"Just be quiet – I don't want us to be interrupted."  
  
Remus nodded his head again. He suddenly felt very unprotected even though there was a spell protecting them. Sirius placed his hand on Remus's face and over his eyes. "Close your eyes."

Remus did as he was told. Sirius moved his hand away from his eyes and trailed it down his cheek. He placed his other hand on Remus' other cheek. He slowly moved his hands through Remus's hair. "Breath." Remus nodded and parted his lips taking in a breath of air. Sirius delighted in the changing color in his cheeks.  
  
He smiled as he moved his hands down across Remus's shoulders, and down his arms. He found Remus's hands and turned them so that his palms were facing up. He lightly trailed his fingers across each of Remus's and smiled. Sirius ran his hands along the length of his boyfriend's arms and back to his shoulders. He placed a slight amount of pressure on his shoulders and felt a crack coming from Remus's back.  
  
"Oooh..." Remus moaned in pleasure, still keeping his eyes closed. "That felt nice."  
  
Sirius chuckled and let his hands glide over Remus's chest, and down his abdomen. He let his hands hover slightly over Remus's skin, so that only the delicate hairs on his body would be stimulated. He delighted when he saw Remus's skin rise with goose bumps. Sirius leant down, kissed Remus's stomach, and smiled when he heard Remus take in a sharp breath of surprise. He looked up and noticed that Remus still had his eyes closed. Sirius changed his position and straddled Remus.  
  
"What are you doing?" Remus opened his eyes when he felt the familiar weight on his hips.  
  
Sirius smiled, leant forward, and kissed Remus's pink lips. He felt Remus encircle his abdomen with his arms and deepen the kiss. Remus's arms traveled down Sirius's back and found the hem of his shirt. He pulled the shirt off his boyfriend with great ease, and ran his hands along his muscular tanned back, still kissing Sirius.  
  
Sirius stopped the kiss and smiled. "Not now, Remy... not here."  
  
"Ooh..." Remus closed his eyes, sighed as Sirius moved off from overtop of him, and watched Sirius sit beside him. "Not now...?"  
  
Sirius leaned in and kissed Remus's collarbone. "Not now." He lay down beside Remus and took his thin, toned body in his arms.  
  
"Then why did you-"  
  
"Because I can."  
  
Remus grunted and wiggled out of Sirius's arms and sat up. "That's not fair."  
  
"I know... but it keeps you wanting me."  
  
"I've wanted you for years Siri... why do you have to keep teasing me?"  
  
Sirius sat up and smiled as he kissed Remus's shoulder. "I don't know. I suppose I like to watch you squirm."  
  
Remus turned and looked at Sirius. "You like to watch me squirm?"  
  
"Sure do."  
  
Remus smiled and quickly turned around pushing Sirius onto his back. Remus quickly straddled Sirius and pinned his arms down. Remus may have appeared to be weak, but he was the complete opposite. Remus smiled as Sirius struggled to move underneath him, and only tightened his legs around Sirius's hips. Remus bent down and kissed Sirius's collarbone. He then moved his focus, and sucked on Sirius's neck, producing a hickey. All the while, Remus was slightly moving his hips and smiled to himself when he felt Sirius harden underneath him. Remus brought his lips up to Sirius's and kissed him deeply. He explored Sirius's mouth with his tongue and allowed Sirius to do the same to him.  
  
Remus smiled and broke the kiss, breathing into Sirius's ear. "Not now, Siri." Sirius panted and smiled against the golden hair that had fallen in his face.  
  
"That's not fair..."  
  
Remus smiled and sat up. "I know... but it keeps you wanting me." Remus gave Sirius 'the look', and dismounted him. He lay down beside him smiling.  
  
"Now I know how you feel... I need to stop doing that."  
  
Remus delighted at the way that Sirius had responded to his actions and nodded his head. He smiled as Sirius slid an arm underneath his neck and moved closer to him. Their skin was touching, and it sent shivers down Remus's back. Remus shifted onto his side and put his arm around Sirius's waist.  
  
"Remus?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"What do you mean? I'm fine." Remus turned his head and looked into Sirius's eyes.  
  
"I mean... you seem so weak sometimes."  
  
Remus looked down again and snuggled his head into the crook of Sirius's shoulder. "I'm alright... I just haven't really recovered from the last transformation..."  
  
"It's been two weeks, usually you're fine in a few days. Why is it taking so long this time?"  
  
"I don't know... maybe its just becoming too much for me to handle anymore or something." Remus traced the outline of Sirius's bottom rib with his finger. "I've talked to Dumbledore, and he said he didn't know why it was taking so long, and Madame Pomfrey doesn't seem to know why either."  
  
"That's not comforting."  
  
"I know... but they're looking into it. They're trying to find a reason – just like I am. None of us have found anything yet."  
  
"You'll be okay though, right?"  
  
Remus smiled and kissed Sirius. He didn't answer, as he didn't know. He hoped that Sirius wouldn't press the matter any longer, and grabbed the blanket beside him and threw it over the both of them. "I love you, Siri."  
  
Sirius smiled. "I love you too."  
  
Remus closed his eyes and sighed, trying to ignore the dull pain in his lower back.


	6. Chapter 6

_'Werewolves: Lycanthropy from Greek lykoi "wolf" anthropos "man". In other words people who turn into wolves or vice versa; werewolves. While wolves are the most common "were" form in Europe shape changers into other animals have also appeared in other cultures so the "Lycanthrope" term has been incorrectly used to mean any person-beast shape-changer.'_  
  
_'Nothing... I've read over this a thousand times... why can't I find anything? This is a magical school – you'd think I'd find something useful...'_ Remus ran a hand through his sandy hair and closed the book he was looking at. Remus suddenly winced at the pain in his side. His hand immediately moved to the place where he was bitten. He rubbed his side with inane hopes of making the pain go away. _'God I have to find something soon...'_  
  
Remus had been looking for any kind of information about his condition. He wasn't the only one – both Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey were desperately trying to find any shred of information to help him. It seemed that the past two transformations were becoming harder to overcome. They were more painful than before, and he seemed to develop a harsher attitude, and generally become a completely altered person a few days before and after the transformation.  
  
Remus shook his head and sighed as he placed all the books he had taken out back into their rightful places. He remembered that Dumbledore had requested he came to see him that night – to inform Remus if he had found anything, which would help him. Remus slowly made his way to Dumbledore's office, and when he entered – he found Dumbledore sitting at his desk with his hands lightly clasped with one another and looking directly at him with a smile on his thin lips.  
  
"Good Evening, Remus."  
  
Remus smiled and took a seat next to the desk. "Good evening Professor. Have you found anything?"  
  
"I have."  
  
Remus's eyes brightened as he sat up. "Really?!"  
  
"Indeed – I've been searching some of the oldest books I have in my possession," He motioned to the book sitting underneath his hands. "And using the information both you and Poppy have provided me with – I have concluded, that it appears that the werewolf side of you," The paintings in his office took in sharp breaths and scowled down at Remus. "Is trying to become more prominent."  
  
Remus sat back and looked at the floor. He ran a hand through his hair and rested his head on a fist. "So... what does that mean...?"  
  
"It means, Remus... that if we do not act now, then you may forever be lost to us as the person I see before me. You may well become a full werewolf if you are not treated."  
  
"Is there anyway to treat it?"  
  
"That is the part that I am not quite sure of yet." As he spoke, Madam Pomfrey stepped into his office. "Ahh, there you are-"  
  
Remus looked to his side and smiled in greeting towards Madam Pomfrey. She took her seat and waited for Dumbledore to continue.  
  
Dumbledore turned his attention to Remus. "Remus, have you chosen a mate?"  
  
Remus looked at Dumbledore and furrowed his eyebrows. "Mate?"  
  
"Yes, the person whom you have become bonded to – the person you will live the rest of your life with."  
  
"Well... no, I don't think so..."  
  
"You don't think you have?"  
  
"Well... no."  
  
"Haven't you been with Sirius Black?"  
  
Remus's eyes became large as he stared at Dumbledore. _'How did he know?'_ "I... err..."  
  
"How long have you been together?"  
  
"Umm..." Remus recoiled into his seat his cheeks began to burn and he spoke quietly. "Since the second week of school..."  
  
"Have you consummated the relationship?" Madam Pomfrey spoke up softly. Remus bowed his head lower and crossed his arms.  
  
"We must know, Remus – in order to help you dear boy." Dumbledore smiled kindly over his half moon glasses.  
  
"...No."  
  
Dumbledore nodded and waved Madam Pomfrey to his side of the desk. She shuffled behind Remus and stood beside Dumbledore, reading the place on the page he had pointed to. After a short amount of time, he spoke once he had noticed she was finished reading.  
  
"Can you do this?"  
  
"I can... but I'll need time and the proper ingredients."  
  
"The ingredients I can and will gladly provide for you – you need not worry about that. Though, we need it before the next full moon in-"  
  
"12 days." Remus spoke quietly as he picked at a string hanging from his pants.  
  
"Thank-you," Dumbledore smiled. "12 days. Can you do it?"  
  
"I can certainly try to be best of my ability."  
  
"Thank-you Poppy." Dumbledore placed a marker on the page and closed the book handing it to her. "Please start work on it straight away."  
  
"I shall." She smiled and nodded, taking the book from Dumbledore's hands, holding it close to her bosom as she walked through the door.  
  
"Good... now, Remus – I must ask you a very important question."  
  
"Sure..." Remus looked up and brushed the hair out of his eyes.  
  
"Have you been experiencing any type of pain that you haven't experienced before?"  
  
"Yes... sometimes I'll feel sharp pains in my side-" Remus motioned and pressed lightly to his side.  
  
"Where you were bitten...?"  
  
"Er... Yes, and also I feel a dull throbbing pain in my lower back most of the time. But what does that have to do with anything?"  
  
Dumbledore placed his wand to his head and transferred a silvery thought to the pensieve sitting on his desk. "It has everything to do with it, Remus. Absolutely everything."  
  
Remus decided to not further question him on that subject, and kicked at the rug covering the ground, straightening the turned up edge as he spoke. "Professor Dumbledore... what did you ask Madam Pomfrey to do?"  
  
"You'll find out in 12 days time. For now, it's late. Both you and I need our rest. Please return to your tower, I'll alert you immediately if anything else comes up." Dumbledore smiled and came around his desk and placed a warm hand on Remus's shoulder. He moved swiftly as he guided Remus towards the door.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore?" Remus turned and looked into light blue eyes.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why did you ask about... Sirius and I? How... how did you know?"  
  
"I asked about yourself and Sirius simply because Madam Pomfrey has told me you've been mumbling in your sleep while in her care. She told me you were mumbling about Sirius... I had held off asking you if it was true or not – until I found that book."  
  
"But... why did you refer to him as my mate?"  
  
"Remus, as a werewolf – you are immediately different from everyone else. You are different because when you fall in love with someone, be it male or female – the werewolf side of you subconsciously chooses that person to be with for the rest of your lives. Therefore creating a powerful bond between yourself and that person. For you, that person is Sirius Black. Remus, that you have found that person and that he returns that love is not something that is so often heard of."  
  
Remus looked down and smiled at the thought of Sirius. "So... I'm bonded to Sirius for as long as we live, because we love eachother?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes."  
  
"Can... can that bond be broken?"  
  
Dumbledore put his hands into the sleeves of his flowing robes as he spoke quietly. "It can be broken, Remus... but only by death. Even then it is not always fully broken. The love you may still feel for him exists still. You cannot simply decide one day that you do not want to love Sirius anymore. It does not work that way. You see, werewolves mate for life. They choose a 'suitable' partner, and connect themselves to that person for as long as they reside on this earth – in rare cases, they are still connected when the werewolves mate has died, or they both remain connected even in the death."  
  
Remus looked down and thought for a moment. "Then why did Madam Pomfrey ask if we had... consummated the relationship?" Remus crossed his arms, and looked up flipping the hair out of his eyes as he spoke.  
  
Dumbledore took in a deep breath and placed a hand on Remus's shoulder. "She asked to find out if Sirius and yourself held more than the prolix bond. She asked because we needed to know that particular part of information to go about helping you."  
  
Remus noticed that Dumbledore was skirting the issue at hand. Remus smiled and nodded. "Oh... Goodnight then."  
  
"Goodnight." Dumbledore smiled kindly and opened the door, letting Remus leave.

* * *

James and Sirius sat in the Gryffindor common room bent over a piece of parchment scribbling down what seemed to be thousands of notes and pictures. Remus stood at the portrait door smiling at his friends, cautiously walking towards his lover with a smile on his face. He stood behind Sirius for a moment listening, until he wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.  
  
"What are you two planning?"  
  
Sirius smiled as he looked up, and caught Remus's lips in a quick hello kiss before returning to the parchment. "We're planning our latest prank."  
  
"Who on?"  
  
"Why, Snape and Malfoy of course!" James smiled as he drew an oddly shaped object. "See this?" James pointed to a small black figure with a hooked nose. "This is Snape, and this..." He pointed to another small black figure with light hair. "Is Malfoy."  
  
"Wow... amazing prank boys." Remus smiled as he took a seat beside Sirius.  
  
James made a face. "I'm not _finished_ yet!"  
  
"Right... sorry – continue." Remus hand found Sirius's thigh and rested it there with a smile on his full lips.  
  
"Anyways, this is Snape and this is Malfoy, we're going to lure them into this place here," James pointed to a large room on the Marauders map that was lying open beside them. "Cast this on them," he pointed to a scribbling of words. "And shove them into here," this time he pointed to the main entrance to the school. "It'll be perfect!"  
  
Remus smiled. "But James, how are you going to lure them into that room?"  
  
"That's what we need your help for." Sirius grinned at Remus.  
  
"Ooh no, I am not going to help you turn Malfoy and Snape into-"  
  
Remus watched as James jumped up and moved to put his hand over Remus's mouth, but Sirius had beaten him to it. "_**SHHH!!!!!**_" They both scolded him at the same time.0  
  
"Don't say it aloud!" Sirius' azure eyes were wide as he spoke. "Don't ruin it!"  
  
Remus smiled as he licked the backside of Sirius's hand. Sirius made a face and took his hand away from Remus's face wiping it on his hands. "Fine, I won't ruin it. But I won't help either. Ask Peter."  
  
"Peter?"  
  
"Yes... the boy sitting over there with... Oooh...who's she?" Remus smiled as he craned his head over the chair blocking his view so he could catch a glimpse of the pretty brunette girl sitting beside Peter.  
  
"That's Laura... his new '_friend_'." James rolled his eyes.  
  
"Reealllyy?" Remus smiled and leaned back in towards James and Sirius. "Anyway, ask him to help you."  
  
"We've already asked him." Sirius sighed.  
  
"He said that he didn't want to get into trouble." James rolled his eyes.  
  
"We assured him that he wouldn't get caught,"  
  
James looked over at Sirius. "Or get in trouble."  
  
"But he still refused."  
  
Remus eyed the boys. "That's just weird, you finishing each other's sentences. I think you've been together far too long."  
  
James and Sirius smiled widely. "You think?" They both spoke at the same time. All three boys broke into laughter. Once it had died down, and James was looking at the parchment, Sirius leant closer towards Remus.  
  
"Please help us?" He placed a tender kiss on Remus's neck. "Please..." He kissed him again. "Please..." Another kiss directed closer to his ear. "Please...?"  
  
Remus rolled his head back as he was kissed and sighed, closing his eyes. He looked at the ceiling as he spoke. "Siri... you know it's not something I like, or want to do." He rolled his neck back, so that his chin was nearly touching his chest. "But... since you put it that way... I suppose I have no choice but to say yes."  
  
"Ahh! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!" Sirius threw his arms around his boyfriend smiling widely. "James! James! He's going to do it!"  
  
James looked up from the parchment smiling. "Excellent! You won't regret this, I promise!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah... I'm going up to bed." Remus stood up and Sirius's hand caught his.  
  
"I'll be there in a minute okay?"  
  
Remus nodded and bid goodnight to James and walked towards the stairway shaking his head. 'I can't believe I agreed to help them...'  
  
"I can't believe you agreed to help them, Remus." Lily was standing in the stairway with her arms crossed, a playful scowl spread across her face. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun, with stray red hairs framing her pale face. She looked breathtakingly gorgeous at that moment, and Remus decided that if he weren't gay – he would have been tempted to ravish her into the early hours of the morning.  
  
"Ahh... but I couldn't help it, Lily." Remus closed in on her and stood on the step just below the one she was on.  
  
"Sirius and James have you wrapped around their little fingers." Lily uncrossed her arms.  
  
Remus looked down and smiled as he sighed. "I know, I know... but if I didn't do it-"  
  
"I know, I know." Lily laughed and wrapped her arms around Remus's neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist hugging her tight as he took in her scent. She smelled of vanilla and some kind of flower. "Goodnight Remus, sleep well." She smiled as he kissed her cheek.  
  
"Night, Lily."  
  
"Hitting on my girlfriend are you?" James came up behind Remus laughing.  
  
"Hitting on my boyfriend are you?" Sirius came up behind Remus and placed a protective arm around his slender waist.  
  
Lily and Remus smiled. "Of course we were." They spoke together, much like Sirius and James had done just a moment before. The four friends exchanged goodnights as they made their way to the dorms. James stopped off at the showers, Lily in her room.  
  
"So... what did Dumbledore say?"  
  
Remus took off his shirt and threw it into his trunk. "He found something that has the potential to help me..." he turned around and put his hands on his hips. "But won't tell me what it is." Remus frowned.  
  
"Oh... how long do you have to wait until you find out?"  
  
"12 days."  
  
"The next full moon? Why so long?"  
  
"Well... Madam Pomfrey has to make whatever it is."  
  
Sirius sat on his bed as he took off his pants. He sat in his boxers for a moment before pulling his pajama pants out of his bedside table. "So is it like a potion or something do you think?"  
  
Remus sat down directly across from Sirius and pulled his shirt over his head. "I don't know – neither Dumbledore or Madam Pomfrey was really specific about it. But since it needs to be made – maybe it is a potion of some sort."  
  
Sirius nodded and walked towards Remus, lying down on his bed with his feet dangling off the edge. "I see... did they say anything else?"  
  
Remus lifted his legs up and sat cross-legged beside Sirius's torso. "Yeah... they told me that... err... this is going to sound bizarre to you."  
  
Sirius propped himself up on his elbows. "Nothing sounds weird to me."  
  
"Well..." Remus smiled slowly. "They told me that I've chosen you as my mate."  
  
"Mate?"  
  
"I said the same thing... what it means... is that the wolf side of me has chosen you as a 'suitable' person to be with, thereby bonding us to eachother."  
  
Sirius sat up and brought his knees up, wrapping his arms around them. "So you're telling me that we're bonded for life because you've chosen me to be your mate? And nothing can change that?"  
  
"Well... death has the potential to break the bond. But yeah... that – and apparently we share a _'prolix bond'_."  
  
"_'Prolix bond'_?"  
  
"Yeah... it's like a word bond between us, meaning that we've pledged our love to one another. I suppose the next step is the... err... sexual part of the relationship that entirely binds us to eachother."  
  
Sirius sat back and looked into Remus's eyes smiling. "So when we have sex the bond will be what, complete or something?"  
  
Remus nodded and smiled. "I guess so. You don't think this is strange, do you?"  
  
Sirius leaned closer to Remus and kissed him softly. "No."  
  
"Are you sure? You don't mind being bonded to me for life?"  
  
"Yes I'm sure, and no, I don't mind being bonded to you for the rest of my life."  
  
Remus smiled and kissed Sirius again. "I was afraid that you would be weirded out about it."  
  
"Nah. I think it's awesome that I've found the person I'm supposed to spend life with at 17."  
  
Remus laughed and hugged Sirius tightly. He looked up and smiled at James who was rubbing his unruly hair with a towel.  
  
"What's up lovebirds?"  
  
"I've just found out that Moony and I have been bonded for life." Sirius smiled proudly and stood up.  
  
"Bonded? Kinky."  
  
Remus laughed and threw his covers back lying down in his bed. "Not like that James. It just means that we get to spend the rest of our lives together and stuff."  
  
James stopped rubbing his hair and threw his towel on the ground by his trunk. "Mmm... sounds tragically romantic."  
  
Sirius smiled and leaned over to kiss Remus goodnight after James had turned around. "Goodnight, Remy – Love you."  
  
Remus returned the kiss gratefully. "Night, Siri – Love you too."  
  
Sirius smiled and walked over to his bed, pulling his covers over his body. He turned on his side to face Remus. Remus remained on his back and closed his eyes – the covers pulled up to his chin. Sirius yawned and closed his eyes, welcoming the dreams that awaited him.


	7. Chapter 7 : Hard R

Well Ladies and Gents - this chapter will have to be rated **NC-17**! Things happen.. OOOOO dear! But with aludes to something more... WOOT! Oohh... absolutely riviting. lol

Righto... Onwards and Upwards!

* * *

The next day, rain was pouring down; and the sky was gloomy and gray. Remus sat in the last class of the day; Divination. He glanced out the window and watched the rain pound against it. Remus returned to his book, and continued to read the chapter. Today they were learning about palmistry. Professor Trelawny had the flu – which she 'saw coming'. She was in no state to teach, so she merely assigned chapter after chapter to be read. Remus ran his hand through his hair, his head was throbbing, he guessed that it had to do with the abrupt weather change.  
  
On the other side of the table, Remus heard Sirius sigh as he read. Remus looked up and smiled. "Boring huh?"  
  
"No doubt. When does class end?" Sirius jumped at the sudden vibration of thunder. It caused the tower to shake slightly.  
  
Remus looked down at his watch. "10 minutes. I can't wait to get out of here."  
  
"Yeah... I have to talk to you after class, alright?"  
  
Remus smiled and nodded looking back at his book. The class sat in silence for the remainder of class, and when the bell rang out, they all quietly packed up their school things. Remus had already packed, and stood waiting for Sirius to finish. He smiled when he was finished, and they set out for the door. Remus waved goodbye to the Professor.  
  
"So what did you want to talk to me about?"  
  
"Well... tonight James and I are going to do the prank..."  
  
"Tonight?"  
  
Sirius nodded and put his arm around Remus. "So that means that James and I need to talk to you about what your role in this is going to be, alright?"  
  
"I don't know if I want to do it..."  
  
"Aw come on Remy! You have to, you promised." Sirius took his arm away and hoisted his bag back onto his sturdy shoulder. Remus scratched his cheek and sighed.  
  
"You're right... when are we going to err... organize this?"  
  
"We're going to meet in the common room in a half hour and go over everything."  
  
"Yeah, alright." Remus smiled as he stepped past the last stair. He had to stop suddenly because it felt like his head was going to explode – the pressure that mounted over the last 10 minutes of class seemed to be unbearable. Remus fell hard to his knees and put his hand to his head. Tears started to creep out of his beautiful amber eyes.  
  
Sirius dropped his bag and fell to his side putting an arm around his shoulders. "Remy! Remy are you alright?"  
  
Remus tried to nod but instead he ended up getting sick. His thin body lurched roughly as he threw up. Sirius had stood up to avoid getting it all over his robes. Remus was on all fours with his head hanging. He was taking in sharp breaths. Sirius took out a handkerchief and bent over. He relieved Remus of his current position and led him away from the throw up. He sat him on the stairs and bent infront of him. He began to clean Remus's face tenderly.  
  
"Do you want me to take you to Madam Pomfrey?"  
  
Remus closed his eyes and gagged slightly. He nodded his head and ran his hands through his hair. Sirius nodded and told a passing friend from Gryffindor to take their bags back to the common room and put them on the couch beside the fire. His friend nodded and stepped around the mess, picking up Remus and Sirius's bags. Sirius smiled in thanks and gently picked up Remus.  
  
He carried Remus to the hospital room as quickly and gently as he could. He noticed that Remus's face was pale and his skin was clammy. When he got there, Madam Pomfrey didn't seem surprised at all. She led Sirius to a bed and told him to lay Remus down. Sirius did as he was told and backed away. Madam Pomfrey placed the back of her hand to Remus's forehead and gasped slightly. Remus moaned slightly.  
  
"You need to leave, Mr. Black. I need to tend to Remus."  
  
Sirius nodded and slowly walked away. The last thing he saw was Remus leaning over again and throwing up into a bucket, with Madam Pomfrey rubbing his back lightly.  
  
When Remus had stopped getting sick, Madam Pomfrey took off his cloak and undid his shirt. Remus's temperature was rising rapidly. She started to get her assistants to fetch ice packs to lie on his body. Remus fell in and out of consciousness and felt relieved when he felt an ice pack under his neck. It sent a delightful shiver down his spine.  
  
Sirius bumped into Professor Dumbledore on his way out of the hospital wing. "Are you just coming from there, Mr. Black?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "Remus is in there throwing up..."  
  
Dumbledore nodded and placed a warm hand to Sirius's shoulder. "Do not worry about him, Sirius. We will help him."  
  
Sirius nodded and watched as Professor Dumbledore sped past him and into the hospital room.  
  
Dumbledore made his way to the back of the wing, and appeared infront of Madam Pomfrey. "So it appears that we need to find another way to help this boy, and quickly."  
  
"Indeed... he's burning up. I've never seen anything like this. Come here..." Madam Pomfrey moved and took Dumbledore's hand and placed it on Remus's forehead. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and sat on the bed.  
  
"Remus... Remus open your eyes..."  
  
Remus obeyed and opened his eyes. Everything was out of focus and he tried his best to keep looking in Dumbledore's direction. Thankfully, Dumbledore took his head in his hands, forcing his head to stay still as he looked at his eyes. Remus's eyes were turning from his usual amber color to a vivid yellow. The color they were when he was transformed.  
  
"We need the wolfsbane now." Dumbledore let go of Remus's head and let his hand float past Remus's eyes. His eyes immediately closed and he seemed to go into a deep sleep. "It is roughly two weeks until the next full moon... we must give it to him."  
  
"But Headmaster... it isn't ready." Madam Pomfrey was wringing her hands.  
  
"Then I need you to go to St. Mungo's and see if they have anything that can help Remus. This is very urgent – we must help him now or risk loosing him." Dumbledore stood and brought the blanket up to Remus's neck. "I have put him to sleep, but he will need to be under constant guard. I will remain here for a while, to make sure he is alright – but I need one of your nurses to remain with him until you return."  
  
Madam Pomfrey nodded and walked in the direction of one of her nurses. Dumbledore pulled the divider to the end of the bed, and sat in the chair next to Remus. He watched Remus's chest for any signs of a struggle to breath – and found none. Dumbledore folded his hands and closed his eyes. A young girl, with black hair and green eyes interrupted him politely.  
  
"Headmaster sir, Poppy told me that I am to stay with this boy until she returns." She smiled slightly as she looked down at Remus. "What's wrong with him...?"  
  
"He is a werewolf-" The girl took in a sharp breath. "My dear," Dumbledore stood up and placed a hand on her arm. "He will not harm you. I have put him into a deep sleep. The reason why he is here is because the werewolf side of him is trying to... take over so to speak. I have told Poppy to go to St. Mungo's to search for any type of help. He has progressed farther in his full transformation than either of us have expected. Please stay here with him and watch to make sure nothing happens to him. If anything suspicious does happen – please alert me immediately. Do not pause for a second, do you understand?"  
  
The girl nodded and looked down at Remus. "Every word."  
  
"Good. Thank-you for staying with him, Alice."  
  
She smiled and shook his hand before taking the seat that was once occupied by Dumbledore. As she sat, she watched Remus sleep. He took in smooth breaths and his lips were slightly parted. She leant over, wiped his slightly damp forehead with a cool cloth, and took in a quick breath when he stirred at the touch. She regained her confidence and dabbed at his forehead again. She couldn't help but think about how astonishingly good-looking this young boy was. His sandy blonde hair was splayed around his head covering the pillow, and his eyes moved slightly underneath the pale lids. His skin looked baby soft to the touch. His lips were more or less the same color as his skin – but with a slight pink tinge to them. Alice smiled as she wiped the hair away from his forehead. He wasn't over heated, but he was warmer than a normal person would be. Remus's head twitched slightly as he slept.

* * *

Sirius came to the painting and mumbled the password, as he entered James bounded upon him. "Your late!"  
  
Sirius made a face. "We can't do the prank tonight."  
  
James's frame sagged and he sighed. "What? We've been planning it for months, Sirius."  
  
"Yeah I know. But Remus is sick and he can't do his part of the prank... so we can't do it. It'll have to wait."  
  
James sat in the chair across from Sirius. "He's sick?"  
  
"Yeah... he started throwing up just after Divination and I had to take him to the infirmary."  
  
"Ouch... will he be okay?"  
  
Sirius lay down on the couch, pushing both his and Remus's bags off of it. "I dunno." He stared up at the ceiling. "I guess he will be. Dumbledore bumped into me in the hallway, and if he's there Remus'll be alright...."  
  
"Yeah." James sighed and took of his glasses rubbing his face. "Can't we ask Peter?"  
  
Sirius rolled his neck and looked over at his friend. "James... just drop it. We'll do it next week or something."  
  
"Alright, alright... I'll drop it. I'm going to go find Lily... want to join?"  
  
"No... I'll see you guys at dinner. I want to relax for a while." Sirius crossed his arms as he brought his cloak around his shoulders and torso.  
  
James stood up and put his glasses back on. He walked towards Sirius and bent down again. He spoke in a hushed tone. "Remus will be alright, Sirius... stop worrying – it's not like you, it doesn't suit you at all." He offered a smile.  
  
Sirius smiled from the corner of his mouth and breathed out. "Yeah I know. That's Remus's job."  
  
James laughed. "Definitely. See you at dinner."  
  
Sirius nodded and watched James disappear through the portrait.

* * *

Remus awoke 3 hours later, and looked into a pair of light blue eyes behind a pair of half moon glasses. He shook his head slightly as he looked around the room. He soon stopped when he felt his side begin to sear with pain. He felt a gentle hand placed on his side – and the pain stopped and was replaced with a feeling of warmth. He looked up again and was greeted by a smiled.  
  
"How are you feeling, Remus?"  
  
"Ugh..."  
  
"Good answer," Dumbledore laughed slightly and motioned for someone to come over. He smiled as he took a small bottle from her hands. The girl with black hair smiled, and her eyes twinkled slightly as she curtseyed and walked away. "This is what I told you about the other night, Remus. This is wolfsbane."  
  
Remus sat up and propped himself up on his elbows. "Wolfsbane...?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded and uncorked the small blue bottle. "It will help you with your transformations and ease all 'side effects' you've been feeling. Meaning – it'll take care of the pain in your side, your mood changes, your headaches – and so on. You must take it 2 weeks before the full moon for it to be effective."  
  
"But... it's less than two weeks until the next full moon..." Remus's heart fell as he looked at Dumbledore.  
  
"Indeed it is. Though if you do take this now – I am sure that it will take care of most of the discomfort that you have been feeling, and possibly have an effect on your transformation. Since your case is completely unique – it may just help you now."  
  
"So... if I take this then I won't transform?"  
  
"No, you will still transform – but you will be tame enough for us to keep you in the castle. You will not have to go to the Shrieking Shack any longer." Dumbledore smiled as he handed the small bottle to Remus.  
  
Remus took the bottle in his hand and looked at it before looking back at Dumbledore. Dumbledore smiled and nodded his head. Remus turned back to the bottle. He raised it to his lips and let it pour down his throat. The liquid was warm and it tasted bitter. He made a face as he swallowed and dropped the bottle. "That tastes horrible..."  
  
Dumbledore nodded and picked up the bottle placing the cork back in it. "I can only imagine that it would. There's something else that you need to know about this potion."  
  
Remus reached for the glass of water beside him and took a swig before speaking. "What's that?"  
  
"Now that you have had the potion, if you intake any sugar – it will become utterly useless. So from now until you transform – you are to stay away from sugar completely. However, after this transformation – you are allowed to have sugar again – but only two weeks every month. Do you understand?"  
  
Remus nodded and his head sank. "So no chocolate for two weeks?" he smiled slightly as he heard Dumbledore laugh.  
  
"No chocolate for two weeks."  
  
_'Damn...'_ Remus smiled as he moved to get out of the bed. "Oh... um... can I go back to the dorms tonight?"  
  
"The color seems to be back in your cheeks – and you feel alright...?"  
  
"I do."  
  
"Then as far as I know you are free to go – unless Madam Pomfrey-"  
  
Madam Pomfrey noticed the pleading look in Remus's eyes as she crossed her arms. "He is fine to go, but may I do a once over on him before he leaves?"  
  
"Of course." Dumbledore smiled and bowed his head to Remus and Madam Pomfrey. "Goodnight."  
  
They both bid good-bye. Remus sat on the bed as Madam Pomfrey worked around him, checking his breathing, temperature, blood pressure, hydration, and blood sugar. "You seem to be alright – you may leave."  
  
Remus smiled widely as he took up his cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders. "Thank-you. Goodnight Madam Pomfrey." He bowed his head as he turned to leave.  
  
"Goodnight, Mr. Lupin." Madam Pomfrey smiled and shook her head as she began to fix his bed.  
  
Remus took in a deep breath as he opened the door to the infirmary and walked through the hallways towards the Gryffindor tower.  
  
"Feeling alright there Lupin?"  
  
Remus turned and came face to face with Serverus Snape. "I'm feeling alright... Why aren't you in your dungeon?"  
  
Serverus scoffed and walked out of the dim shadows he was standing in. His greasy hair was lying over his eyes, and his eyebrow was raised. "Out for a moonlit walk."  
  
Remus lowered his head and smiled. "I see... I have to get going – so I'll talk to you later."  
  
"What are you and your moronic friends planning?"  
  
Remus stopped and turned to face the greasy boy. "What do you mean?"  
  
Serverus stepped forward and stood inches from Remus's face. "You know what I mean, Lupin. You had better not be planning anything – or you'll rue the day you were born."  
  
Remus laughed slightly and shook his head at Serverus. "I already rue the day I was born, Serverus." He lied.  
  
Serverus sneered and pushed past the sandy haired boy, making sure to smash into his shoulder – he expected to find Remus loose his footing but instead he found himself loosing his own footing. He looked back at Remus and looked at him with a confused look in his eyes.  
  
"Better hurry to bed, Serverus."  
  
Serverus glowered at him before turning around and heading in the direction of the dungeon. Remus smiled at himself and continued walking towards the Gryffindor tower. As he got there, he had to wake the painting.  
  
"I'm sorry Fat Lady, but you must wake up to let me in..."  
  
"What, What?" She looked around and then down at Remus. "Oh... it's you..." She smiled slightly as he cheeks went pink. "Password?"  
  
"Fiddylord." Remus smiled.  
  
She smiled as she swung to the side. "Such a lovely boy."  
  
Remus laughed as he made his way over to the couch. His bag wasn't sitting there so he decided that his friends had taken it upstairs. As he emerged through the door he found someone on his bed. He wrinkled his eyebrows as he walked towards his bed.  
  
Sirius was lying on Remus's bed sprawled out on his back. His hair was everywhere and he was breathing slowly. He smiled and walked towards his trunk. Remus cringed when he accidentally tripped over his book bag. He immediately looked around the room for a sign of anyone waking. Finding nothing, he quickly found his pajamas and started to strip down. The moonlight shone across his back, illuminating his many scars. Remus stood in his boxers, trying to find the tag in his pants. He was caught off guard as Sirius came up behind him, wrapped his arms around his waist, and rested his head on Remus's shoulder.  
  
"Jesus, Siri! Don't do that..." Remus jumped as he felt the touch on his body.  
  
"I'm sorry..." Sirius kissed the crook of Remus's neck smiling. "I didn't mean to scare you."  
  
"It's alright..." Remus smiled at the touch and finally found the tag at the back of his pants but froze when he felt hands travel towards his crotch. "Siri...." Sirius' hands kept moving until they found his waistband. He slipped his fingers past the waistband and down a trail of soft sandy blonde hair. Remus felt his blood rush to his groin as Sirius continued. "Siri... not now... no... Siri!" Remus gasped slightly as he felt a hand caress his penis. Remus grabbed for Sirius's hands and took them out of his boxers. He looked down quickly and blushed at the bulge in his boxers.  
  
"What?"  
  
Remus turned around and looked into Sirius's eyes. "We're in the dorm room, Siri... you're trying to... in here... infront of everyone... That's not how it is supposed to happen."  
  
Sirius looked down and placed his hands on Remus's hips, pulling him close, his eyes were full of desire "I know... but I-"  
  
Remus put a finger to Sirius' lips. "Not here, not now." He bit his lip as he felt a slight caress through his boxers. "Oh God..." Remus looked down and blushed. "Siri..." Remus stopped himself in mid sentence. "I-I need a shower."  
  
Sirius laughed when he looked down. "I can see why."  
  
Remus's eyes went wide and his hands went instinctively to his crotch. "Ahh...! That's not why! I need a shower because I feel dirty," Sirius stifled a laugh. "Since I was throwing up and I haven't gotten the chance to clean up."  
  
Sirius nodded and smiled as his boyfriend gathered up his shirt, grabbed a towel and scurried off to the shower.  
  
Remus got to the shower and closed the door quickly. 'God how am I going to resist him...? I mean... I nearly asked him to come with me to the Room of Requirement and actually go through with it.... Oh God...' Remus took off his clothing and set it on the counter. He brought his towel to the shower stall, and laid it on the ledge right beside it. Remus turned the knobs and watched as the water spurted from the showerhead. He adjusted the temperature so that it was quite warm, and stepped in.  
  
He welcomed the hot water on his tired muscles. Remus stood still for a moment before he reached up and ran his fingers through his hair. He let the water cascade down his face and the front of his body. Remus reached for the soap, beginning to rub it on the lufa sponge to work up a lather. He began to wash himself and was pleasantly surprised when he accidentally brushed it against his groin. Remus looked down and tried to ignore the sudden growth. He shifted his eyes around and bit his lip. He had never touched himself in a sexual way. He didn't quite know what to do with himself.  
  
Sirius had walked into the bathroom and was sitting on the counter, watching Remus's form through the mist in the air and fogged glass. Sirius tilted his head and smiled. "Hey Remy?" He saw the figure freeze, he laughed silently.  
  
"Err... Yeah?" Remus moved and poked his head out of the side of the shower.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" Sirius hopped off the counter and took his shirt off.  
  
"I was... err... almost finished." Remus looked at his boyfriend, who was just about to slip off his boxers. His eyes trailed down Sirius's body slowly.  
  
Sirius laughed as he rested his fingers on the waistband of his boxers. Why was he all of a sudden scared? He bit his lip before continuing. "Nah... your not." He took in a deep breath, slid his boxers off of his body, and stepped forward completely naked. His heart was pounding, as he stood infront of Remus.  
  
Remus bowed his head and stepped aside, allowing Sirius to step into the shower. Remus smiled and moved to the back of the small shower crossing his arms. He tried his best to not look at Sirius' crotch.  
  
Sirius stood infront of him smiling. "I need that, Remy."  
  
"What?" He looked down at the lufa sponge. "Oh! Right... here." Remus handed it to him gently and smiled as he blushed.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Mm..." Remus smiled and reached for the shampoo.  
  
"Hey Remy?"  
  
Remus turned around with the shampoo bottle in hand. "Yes?"  
  
"Mind scrubbing my back? I can't reach it..." Sirius handed him the still soapy lufa.  
  
"Oh... um... sure... turn around." Sirius did as he was told with a smile on his face. Remus began to rub the lufa on Sirius back and felt a sudden rush of blood to his groin. Once he had finished, he hadn't noticed that Sirius had turned around and was looking at him. Remus snapped out of his stare and looked up. He smiled and moved to rinse off the lufa. He got up on his tiptoes and reached around Sirius, trying to reach the water. Sirius didn't move – Remus lost his balance. Remus fell forward and into Sirius's ready arms. Sirius held him close, and the fronts of their bodies were touching. Remus could feel something hard hitting him somewhere just below his belly button.  
  
Sirius smiled as Remus dropped the lufa. Sirius' lips started to fall out as he leant forward and kissed Remus. The mix of the kiss and the hot water caused Remus to become even harder than he already was. He felt Sirius's body rumble slightly as he laughed.  
  
"Do you want me to help with that, Remy?"  
  
"Help with what...?"  
  
"The hard object hitting my leg"  
  
Remus began to suck on his lips and he knitted his eyebrows. He looked down and for the first time, saw how large Sirius was. His eyes went slightly wide. He twitched his head.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
Remus's heart began to pound, but he kept his eyes lowered. This time, he legibly nodded his head. "I-I've never had anyone... I hadn't even... no one has ever t-t-"  
  
Sirius smiled and brought Remus's head up. "Relax. I won't hurt you." He smiled and laid his soft, warm lips on Remus's. His hands began to travel down Remus's body and stopped just below his hips. "Are you sure you want me to do this?" Remus nodded and bit his bottom lip again. "Alright..."  
  
Sirius kissed him again only this time his hands moved lower. Remus felt a hand cover the shaft of his penis and took in a sharp breath. Sirius smiled against his lips and moved to begin kissing his neck. Remus stood still as Sirius kissed his chest. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with his hands. His eyes however, flung open when he felt a light kiss on his belly button. He looked down and saw a mass of black hair. He felt a tongue dragging down his skin. Remus ran his hand through his hair and felt as if his heart was going to burst from his chest. In an instant he felt a pair of lips over the tip of his penis. Remus leant forward slightly with his mouth open taking in a breath. He rolled his eyes back and put his hands on Sirius's shoulders. He didn't dare move them towards his head, though he very much wanted to.  
  
Remus began to bite his lip again as Sirius continued. He closed his eyes and wrinkled his eyebrows together. Remus began to breath quicker, and his heart began to pound faster. His knees threatened to give away. He tightened the muscles in his legs and lent against the wall of the shower. He took in a sharp breath when he felt Sirius's tongue find a sensitive part underneath the head of his penis. Remus let out a low moan that he wasn't able to keep in any longer.  
  
Sirius began to pump his hand along Remus's shaft and looked up at his boyfriend. His head was hanging forward and he was chewing on his lips – his face skewed up in a look of lust. Sirius also noticed that he was breathing quickly and his cheeks were bright red. He smiled as he looked down again. He placed his lips over the head of Remus's penis and continued to move his hand up and down the length of Remus's shaft. He quickened the pace when he felt Remus's body start to tense. At this point, he tried to decide whether he was to spit or swallow – but the decision was soon made for him as Remus emitted a mix of a moan and a squeak. He felt Remus's hands tighten on his shoulders and his nails dig in slightly, Sirius was also vaguely aware that Remus had slumped forward. Sirius sucked the head of Remus's penis – swallowing all the semen that had found his mouth.  
  
Remus felt his cheeks burning and his blood pounding. His world slowly came out of the haze it had been in, and he opened his eyes. Sirius was looking up at him with a smile across his lips. Sirius slowly began to stand and Remus kept his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders as he did so. Sirius gathered the boy into an embrace.  
  
"Glad I helped?"  
  
"Mmm... thank-you" Remus slightly nodded his head and wrapped his arms around Sirius's shoulders, resting his forehead to Sirius'. Sirius suddenly took in a sharp breath and Remus's eyes flung open. "What?"  
  
"My shoulders."  
  
Remus lifted his head slightly and looked. There were 4 marks on either side of his shoulders. They were all bleeding. Remus's hands flew to his mouth. "Did I do that to you?" Sirius smiled, nodded and reached for the shampoo. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry Siri..."  
  
"It's alright." He smiled and took Remus's hands away from his mouth and turned them around, squirting shampoo into them. "Wash up."  
  
Remus nodded still looking at Sirius's shoulders. He started to rub the shampoo through his hair and watched his boyfriend do the same. "Do you... do you," Remus moved to underneath the stream of water, rinsing his hair. "Want me to err... return the favor?"  
  
"Not now." Sirius smiled and stepped underneath the stream of water. "I'll tell you when I want you to."  
  
Remus was slightly relived – as he had never given anyone a hand job or a blowjob. He hadn't even done it to himself. Sirius turned off the tap and shook his head spraying Remus with water. Remus laughed and did the same. Remus stepped out of the shower stall with his hair plastered to his face. He smiled through his hair and turned to dry it.  
  
"Hey Remy?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Was that the first time you've ever... you know..."  
  
Remus turned around and was rubbing his arms dry with the towel. "... Yeah." He looked down slightly as he began to dry his legs.  
  
"You've never done it yourself?" Sirius was standing with his towel around his shoulders with an astonished look on his face.  
  
"Err... no." Remus smiled quickly and reached for his boxers.  
  
"... Wow..." Sirius stood with his eyebrows raised. He finished drying off and getting dressed before Remus spoke again.  
  
"Yeah... well I've never had the urge to do anything like that. Infact – you're the first person who's seen err... me in 16 years."  
  
"Really? How can you live without-"  
  
Remus reached for his toothbrush and handed Sirius his. "I don't know... I just ignored it." He uncapped the toothpaste and put it on both of their brushes.  
  
"That would explain why there was so much."  
  
"So much what?" Remus put his toothbrush into his mouth.  
  
"Semen." Remus stopped brushing and looked at Sirius with wide eyes. "Yeah... there was a lot." Sirius put his own toothbrush in his mouth and cleaned his teeth.  
  
"Did... did you err..."  
  
Sirius spat. "Swallow it?" Remus nodded. "Yeah, I did." Remus continued to brush his teeth but very slowly. "Don't worry... you tasted good." Sirius smiled out of the side of his mouth.  
  
Remus' eyes went wide as he looked away blushing. He spat out some of the building toothpaste in his mouth. "Err... thank-you?"  
  
Sirius laughed as he bent to pick up the cup beside the sink, filling it with water. "Your welcome." He took a swig of water and handed the half full cup to Remus. He took it gladly and rinsed out his mouth.  
  
The boys gathered up their things, throw their used towels into the hamper and made their way back to the room. Everyone was still asleep and Sirius leaned in for a kiss. Remus greeted it happily and smiled.  
  
"Hey... whatever happened at the hospital?"  
  
"Oh... they gave me this potion," he leant in and spoke into Sirius's ear. "Called wolfsbane – it's supposed to take away all the symptoms of my condition and allow me to be tame so I'll be able to stay in the school when I transform."  
  
"Oh." Sirius nodded his head and smiled. "Well that's good. Do they know about James, Peter and I being able to..."  
  
"No. I don't think so."  
  
"Okay."  
  
The boys climbed into bed and a few minutes passed before Remus spoke again. "Siri...?"  
  
"Mhm?"  
  
"Do you think any less of me because of my condition and because of what we talked about in the bathroom?"  
  
"No. Answer to the first one – doesn't bother me, but I do get scared when it happens because you hurt yourself. Second one – I happen to like the fact that I was the first person to do that – and to see it." Sirius smiled and looked over at Remus.  
  
Remus smiled back and rolled onto his side. "When are you going to ask me to repay the favor?"  
  
"When the time is right."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
The boys fell silent again for a few minutes. Remus spoke up again. "Siri?" He cleared his throat and looked over at Remus. "Was James mad because we couldn't pull the prank?"  
  
"Nah... he was disappointed – but we'll just have to do it next week or tomorrow. It's no big deal – he'll live."  
  
Remus smiled. "Okay... Goodnight."  
  
Sirius yawned. "Night."  
  
Remus rolled onto his stomach and looked out the window. The moon would soon be full. Remus watched the grounds for a while, before slowly drifting off into sleep.

* * *

Are you noticing a pattern? I always seem to end every chapter with them going to bed. Oi lord I need to work on that!

Also - Sorry for the damn long time updating - I had homework/schoolwork to work on, so that WOOT! I can pass school and become a lazy graduate. Hurrah...

**Tracey** - _HUUAHH_! Oh dear I hate that I updated this after you had to leave for work - its the devil, this I know. Because now all day you'll be thinking about it. Kehehe... Oh the evilness of it all! hugs, hugs, hugs I still love you dear cousin of mine! RIGHT OFF! DOUBLE FISTED! Oh how I love Tarzan. (lmao! Good times are had between us.)

**To everyone else who has reveiwed this story -** I can't go through all the names - there's too many of you and that would make this FAR to long of an entry. It's already upwards of 5,000 words. GAH! What I need to say - is thankyou so much for reading this story, and encouraging me to write more. I've tried to write the characters true to the book, and I'm glad that you all appreciate the way I've created my two favorite characters in the whole series. Without you my lovely readers - I would have stopped writing a long time ago.

So, in conclusion (I feel like I'm writing a speech..) the whole reason these stories keep coming is because of the reveiws!! You guys rock hardcore style! _BOOH-YEAH!!!!!_


	8. Chapter 8

The full moon had come and gone, and the potion had worked. Remus came back from the Shrieking Shack with no cuts or bruises. From what he remembered, he had merely lain on the ground silently and slept. It was also the first night that his friends hadn't come to see him.  
  
Remus sat at the breakfast table alone sipping his tea. He flipped through the pages of the Daily Prophet. He didn't look up when James, Peter, and Sirius appeared at the table. They were all involved in chatter about that day. It was the first Hogsmede visit of the year.  
  
"I can't wait to go to Zonko's... I heard that they have new stock in." Sirius smiled happily as he took a bite of the toast sitting infront of him.  
  
"Really? I thought they just re-stocked everything from last year." James sipped at his pumpkin juice.  
  
"Hey... hey! Are you guys still planning that prank?" Peter leant forward and nearly tipped over his glass of juice.  
  
Sirius and James nodded in unison. "Why?" They looked at eachother and laughed. Remus turned the page of the article he was reading.  
  
"Well... I'd like to help..."  
  
"What about your girlfriend?" James raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. "I thought she was more important than the prank."  
  
"We kind of broke up."  
  
"Kind of? How can you kind of break up?" Sirius wrinkled his nose.  
  
Peter looked blankly at the table and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know..." He shook his head as he looked up. "Anyway, can I help?"  
  
"Well Remus was going t-" James gestured over at Remus.  
  
"Go ahead Peter." Remus spoke without looking up. He took another sip of his tea. "I don't mind." He flipped another page.  
  
"Awesome!" Peter smiled widely. "Thanks so much Remus!"  
  
Remus looked up at Peter only and smiled before he glanced back down at his paper.  
  
"Hey are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine, Sirius. And you?" Remus looked up and took a sip of his tea. He stared at Sirius through the rising steam.  
  
Sirius raised his eyebrows slightly. "I'm fine. Are you coming today?"  
  
"I don't think so. I think I'm just going to stick around here with Lily."  
  
"Lily's not going either?"  
  
"She's your girlfriend James, you should have known that." Remus looked over at James with one eyebrow lifted.  
  
"Yeah... I guess I should have known that..."  
  
Remus took another sip of his tea as Sirius stood up. "Okay, I'm going to get to the front gate. You boys coming?"  
  
They nodded and stood up. "See you later, Remus." Peter smiled.  
  
"Yeah, see you when we get back." James pat his shoulder quite hard, causing the tea to slosh around rather violently in the cup.  
  
"See you tonight Remy." Sirius spoke quietly and smiled. Remus looked up at him and cracked a smile winking his eye.  
  
"See you, Siri. Have a good day, guys."  
  
The three boys made their way to the exit of the Great Hall, and Lily stole a seat beside Remus. "So! A whole day together! What are we going to do?"  
  
"Hmmm... I don't really know."  
  
"Oh... Hey!!"  
  
He looked over at her and narrowed his eyes. "What?"  
  
"Can I do your make-up? I've always wanted to do your make-up!"  
  
Remus groaned. "Lily..."  
  
"Pleaseee?"  
  
"Lily I'm gay, that doesn't make me a woman."  
  
She let her bottom lip pucker as she wrinkled her eyebrows. "Please, please, please?" She latched onto his robes and whimpered.  
  
Remus groaned again, rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his neck. "We'll see."  
  
"Oh yay!!" Her posture immediately straightened up as she clapped happily. "Thank you!" her smile was very wide and her eyes twinkled.  
  
Remus laughed and shook his head. "That doesn't mean I'm going to let you do it."  
  
"Oh I know you will! You're to sweet to say no to me!" She smiled widely and winked.  
  
Remus sipped at his tea and laughed slightly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."  
  
The pair of friends spent most of the day in the library working on various tidbits of homework, and talking about schoolwork, teachers, and friends. They later made their way to the Gryffindor common room and sat on the couches. Lily sat on one end of the loveseat with her legs crossed facing Remus who was sitting the same way.  
  
"Remus?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Have you ever had sex?"  
  
"...No." He looked down and began to pick at the string on his pants.  
  
"Neither..."  
  
"But what about all the things James has told us? And about the wa-"  
  
"Wax? Yes... about that... I was leaning over him, and he said something crude... so I dumped hot wax down his shirt. Mostly everything else he's told you is more than likely a lie."  
  
Remus raised his eyebrows. "Wow. I always knew there was something fishy about those stories."  
  
She nodded. "So you know what?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"We should have sex to get back at him."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me," Remus's eyes went wide as she spoke. "I've never even... I wouldn't... I'm with Sirius..."  
  
"Oh Remus, I was kidding. Come on, follow me."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just do it!" She held out her hand and he took it after a few moments. He followed her to the stairs and she turned to the left instead of the right.  
  
"Where are you taking me?"  
  
"To my dorm, we're going to do your makeup."  
  
"No... no Lily I can't go in there..."  
  
She dragged him through the open door. "Nonsense, everyone has gone to Hogsmede. No one is going to see." She smiled as she closed the door.  
  
The room was set up exactly the same as the boys; only it was much cleaner and smelled of lilacs. The window was open and the wind was blowing freely through the room.  
  
"Sit there... that's my bed."  
  
He sat down on the bed 2 away from the window. She bent over and fished through her trunk, taking out a small bag. She smiled as she sat down on the bed. She unzipped it and dumped everything out on the bed. Remus looked at all the things with his eyes wide. He picked up an eyelash curler.  
  
"This looks like a terrible torture device." He rolled it around in his fingers, opening and shutting it a few times.  
  
"That's an eyelash curler, not a torture device." She laughed, taking it from his hand. "And we need to use that."  
  
"What? No!"  
  
"Oh come on!"  
  
"I can't believe I'm letting you do this to me." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.  
  
She smiled as she looked up; and took out a small case of eye shadow. "I'm going to do what's called the 'smoky effect'. Come here."  
  
"Smoky effect?"  
  
"Yeah, you know, what it looks like when girls have dark eye shadow on and it looks... Err... Smoky." She smiled as she took his chin in her hand and wiped the hair out of his face. "Sit still and close your eyes." He tensed up and then closed his eyes.  
  
"I can't believe this." He groaned as he felt the little pad of color touch his eyelid.  
  
"Oh hush." Once she had finished she told him to open his eyes and look at her. As he did so, she looked from eye to eye and smoothed the parts that were uneven and reapplied the eye shadow where it was needed. "Okay, now I need to line your lashes with this."  
  
"With a black pencil crayon?" He eyed the eyeliner with an apprehensive look in his eyes.  
  
"No... eyeliner. Close your eyes." He did as he was told and flinched when he felt the pencil run along his eyelashes. "God you have long eyelashes, Remus."  
  
He smiled slightly as she finished. "You're fast."  
  
She smiled and picked up the eyelash curler. "Now open your eyes and look towards me."  
  
His eyes went wide as he looked at the eyelash curler. "What are you going to do with that?"  
  
"Curl your eyelashes so I can put on mascara... here..." She did it to herself and smiled when she finished. "That's what I'm going to do to you."  
  
"Can we skip that part? I already feel foolish."  
  
She tilted her head to the side and pouted. "Well I suppose..." She put the curler back into her bag and took out a new bottle of mascara. She opened the package and smiled.  
  
"Why aren't you using the one that's already open?"  
  
"Because it's too dry. Look up." He did as he was told, and she applied many layers of mascara to his lashes. "Okay. Look down at me."  
  
He looked at her and then looked up. "Is it okay that I'm seeing little black dots above my eyes?"  
  
She laughed and leant forward. "Those are clumps... here." She picked off a few of the clumps as easily as she could. "Better?"  
  
"Yeah... Are we done?"  
  
"Nope... you need lipstick."  
  
"Lipstick?"  
  
"Mhm." She took out a small tube of liquid. "Open your mouth slightly, and relax your lips." She applied the lipstick carefully and smiled when she finished. "Now do this." She closed and opened her lips. Remus mimicked her. "Good. Now lightly press your lips on this." She placed a piece of Kleenex between his lips. She smiled when he was done. "You look so gorgeous."  
  
"I feel stupid."  
  
"Look in the mirror!"  
  
He rolled his eyes and took the small red mirror from her hands. He looked at his reflection. He had never noticed how long his eyelashes were before. "I look different." He didn't even really recognize himself.  
  
"You look fabulous, Remus."  
  
"Can I wash it off now?" He handed her the mirror.  
  
"Nooo... just leave it on for a little while... please?"  
  
Remus sighed deeply as he lay back on the bed. "Fine. But no pictures."  
  
"Of course not." She smiled and lay down beside him. They looked up at the canopy before she rolled onto her side and propped her head up on her hand. "Do you ever wonder what it's like to have sex with a girl?"  
  
"Yeah. But then I haven't ever had sex, so I wouldn't have anything to compare it to."  
  
She bit her lip, leant over, and kissed his lips. His eyes went wide at first, but he then greeted her lips with his, kissing back. The kiss was short enough to mean nothing, but at the same time, long enough to mean something. She smiled into his lips and leant back.  
  
"Why did you kiss me...?"  
  
"Why did you kiss back?"  
  
He turned his head and looked at her, mimicking her position. "I don't know."  
  
"Neither do I." They stared into each other's eyes again before she spoke. "I've just always wanted to kiss you."  
  
"Why? You have James. It can't be much different..."  
  
"I don't know. He's the only boy I've ever kissed. You kiss differently. Your kiss was soft and gentle." She smiled and lay down, her arm behind her head.  
  
"...Oh."  
  
"Have you done anything with Sirius?"  
  
Remus smiled at the mention of his name. "...Yeah."  
  
"Do you love him?"  
  
He laid in silence for a while before answering quietly. "More than I thought I was ever capable of."  
  
"Do... do you know about his sexual experiences before you?" She started to fiddle with one of the buttons on Remus's shirt.  
  
"Not in detail... but he's told me he's not a virgin."  
  
"Does that make you jealous?"  
  
"Yeah. I wanted to be the first person he was with." He sighed and laid his head down on the pillow, changing his position so he was lying on his back. "Why are you asking so many questions?"  
  
"Just trying to get to know you better."  
  
Remus smiled to himself. "Then may I ask you a few questions?" He felt her nod against his shoulder. "Do you love James?"  
  
"I do."  
  
"Are you proud of who you are and where you come from?"  
  
"Sometimes I am."  
  
"Only sometimes?"  
  
She curled her legs up and took a deep breath. "Sometimes I just get tired of being me, of having my family. My sister is dreadful towards me. My parents aren't awful towards me, but there are times where I can't stand it."  
  
"Oh. Do you plan to have kids?"  
  
She smiled. "I want to have a boy and a girl. And I hope that neither of them get James's hair." Lily began to laugh and was shortly joined by Remus.  
  
"That would be terrible wouldn't it?"  
  
She laughed and nodded. "It would." The laughter died down before she spoke again. "Though... even if the children did get his hair, I would still love them... I would sacrifice my life for them if it came to that choice."  
  
Remus nodded. "Yeah..."  
  
"Do you ever want kids?"  
  
"It would be nice to have them... but I wouldn't be capable of having any children. Seeing as how... you know."  
  
"Then you can love my children, and help me look after them."  
  
Remus smiled. "Promise?"  
  
"Promise."  
  
He looked over at the window and watched a small blue bird fly towards the Womping Willow. He didn't have to imagine what happened next as he heard a small squawk and the tree readjusting itself, as if it was laughing.  
  
"What's the one thing that you wish for?"  
  
"That I wasn't ever bitten by the werewolf."  
  
"When did that happen...?"  
  
"The werewolf bit me when I was a child."  
  
She nodded her head. "Have you got many scars...?"  
  
He smirked slightly as he sat up. "I've got tons." He wrapped his arms around his knees.  
  
She slowly sat up and placed a gentle hand to his back as she moved. She wrapped her arm around his back and placed her head on his shoulder. She took his hands in hers. "You'll always be the same old Remus to me. The same wonderful Remus."  
  
He smiled into her hair. "Thanks." He took in a deep breath and sat in silence with Lily's warm body pressing against his. "Can I take this makeup off yet?"  
  
She laughed and slapped his knee. "Way to ruin the moment. Yeah, go ahead."  
  
He smiled and walked towards the bathroom. She followed him, and stood in the doorway as he washed his face. "What time is it?"  
  
Remus dried his face and looked at his watch. "Nearly 2:00."  
  
"When are the boys due back?"  
  
"I have no clue." He hung up the towel and walked towards her. "Now how do I look?"  
  
"Just as gorgeous as you did when you wore the makeup."  
  
He smiled and rolled his eyes. "Lets go get something to eat, sound good?"  
  
She nodded her head and followed him down the stairs towards the door.

* * *

Awwww! Well wasn't that the sweetest chapter? It almost makes you cringe with sappiness doesn't it? No matter, though. It's a good thing. We all love a good dose of fluff.... 

ALSO!!! I ask you wonderful readers, to post a few ideas for to happen in the chapters to come. I'd _love _to hear your input about what you think shall happen - I'll pick one of the suggestions and use it if I get more than **10**! Maybe I'll even add in more than 1 if I like them. HURRAH! That way, you can see the story grow in the direction you want it to, and that's always a wonderful thing.

As always, please let me know what I'm doing right - and what I'm doing wrong _(but do be constructive if I'm doing somethign wrong - offer a suggestion so I can better the problem!)_

Thank you again for reading my story, you all are the complete best! I love coming online to read comments - it's my favorite part of writing. -smiles-

**OHH!! SUPER PS!!** If you want to know what I think Remus and Sirius closely look like in this story, check out the link in my userinfo!!! They're **SUPER** hot... especially Remus... -drool- Now.. Imagine those faces, doing the shower scene... LORD.......


	9. Chapter 9

"Alright, so it's settled. We pull the prank tonight." James looked around the castle grounds as he spoke.  
  
"Indeed." Sirius smiled as he looked over at Snape who was currently battling with a Niffler. "Pink, green, or purple?"  
  
"How about periwinkle?"  
  
James and Sirius looked slowly over at a hopeful Remus with a very perplexed look on their faces.  
  
"_Periwinkle_?" Sirius spat the word at Remus.  
  
"Yeah... I-I-it's a lovely mix between blue and purple..." Remus laughed nervously and bit his lip looking down.  
  
"_Periwinkle_..." Sirius shook his head.  
  
"Does it go nicely with pink?" James tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows at Remus.  
  
"Err... well if it's a soft pink, I suppose it would look alright."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows. "We're not trying to make it look pretty ladies."  
  
"Hey! Hey I am no lady. I'm a man, thank-you very much." James narrowed his eyes at Sirius.  
  
"I beg to differ." Remus smirked.  
  
_"What?"_ James's face went slightly pale. "What," He cleared his throat. "Wh- what are you talking about?"  
  
Remus smiled widely and winked. "Nothing."  
  
"Nothing my ass." Sirius looked at James and raised an eyebrow. "What's this 'I beg to differ' nonsense?" He made quotation marks with his fingers in the air as he repeated what Remus had said.  
  
"Exactly that."  
  
"Exactly what?"  
  
"Nothing." Remus smiled and closed his book as he stood. "Care of Magical Creatures is over-" Remus looked up as the bell rang signifying the end of class. "Now."  
  
"Seriously what is this 'I beg to differ'?" Sirius stood quickly and hoisted his bag onto his shoulders.  
  
"It's nothing." This time it was James who spoke.  
  
"You two know something I don't. I don't like being left out of the loop... spill it."  
  
"Honestly it's nothing." James gave Sirius a severe look and turned to walk up to the castle for lunch.  
  
Remus had begun to think he shouldn't have said anything. Remus stayed behind, as usual to wait for Sirius. "Have you ever thought of packing before class ends? Or even just keeping some of your supplies in your bag?" Remus readjusted his bag and crossed his arms.  
  
"Well you don't have to wait for me you know. And besides, why would I do that? It's the easy way out." Sirius grinned as he fastened the clasp on his bag. He stood and swung it over his shoulder.  
  
"You're so... so..."  
  
"So what...?"  
  
"UGH!" Remus flung his arms in the air, turned, and began to walk towards the stairs leading back to the castle.  
  
"Hey drama queen you forgot your quill." Sirius shouted after him.  
  
"Fu-" Remus turned around. "ck..."  
  
"I wouldn't mind that at all." Sirius had sped up the stairs and was standing just inches from Remus's face as he smiled, holding the quill.  
  
Remus took the quill from his hands, and kissed Sirius's nose. "Only if we cuddle afterwards."  
  
"Done." Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus's body and placed his hands on his butt, lifting him up. Remus instinctively wrapped his legs and arms around Sirius's body and yelped. "Oooh, like that do you?" Remus smiled widely and bent his neck so he could kiss Sirius.  
  
He placed his lips softly on Sirius's and in a matter of seconds was darting his tongue into Sirius's mouth. Remus enjoyed the sweet flavor of Sirius's mouth. Remus ended the kiss and smiled seductively. "Would you like me to help you with that?"  
  
"Help with wha...?"  
  
Remus waited for Sirius to let go of him and let him stand on the ground. He then smiled and slowly dragged his hand down Sirius's shirt and down to his crotch. He cupped Sirius's crotch with his hand and squeezed his hand slightly, earning a small moan from Sirius. "That."  
  
"Oh God..." Sirius looked off to the side and drew his lips into his mouth, moving his hips slightly forward. "We...we're in... Oh!" He yelped as Remus moved his hand slightly, still holding his crotch. Sirius cleared his throat and looked down at Remus.  
  
"Mmm... are you sure?" Remus smiled as he stepped closer and moved his hand away from his crotch and towards his hip. He then placed both his hands on Sirius's hips and pulled him close to his own body, slowly moving his hands around to Sirius's butt. "Because... I wouldn't mind..." Remus leant forward and kissed an exposed part of Sirius' neck.  
  
Sirius moved his head to expose more skin and groaned. "God... yes..."  
  
"Yes you want it..." Remus kissed him again and moved his hips against Sirius's, enjoying the reaction from down below. "Or yes meaning no."  
  
Sirius took in a deep breath. "I'm going to regret..." He grunted again as Remus moved slightly. "Regret this... but yes meaning no..."  
  
"Mmm... too bad..." Remus kissed his neck again and moved slightly away from Sirius body looking down, smiling he looked up again. "Since you're already prepared for me to help."  
  
Sirius rolled his head back and sighed, letting Remus take his hand. They walked in silence for a moment. "Tonight then." He flipped his robe over his crotch and was thankful that his erection was hidden.  
  
"But the prank is tonight, Siri. You can't want postpone it again."  
  
"Aw shit!"  
  
Remus smiled and slid his hand around Sirius's waist, letting his hand rest on his hip as they walked.  
  
"You are such a tease."  
  
Remus's mouth dropped. "What?"  
  
"You knew that the prank was tonight, but you went ahead and... and did that."  
  
Remus laughed to himself as they came upon the castle's entrance. "I wanted to make sure you still wanted me."  
  
"Remy... I always want you. You-you prance around here-"  
  
"Hey! I don't prance."  
  
"Okay flounce."  
  
"I don't do that either!"  
  
"Fine! Walk! You walk around here strutting your stuff – and _yes_, you strut." He stopped Remus before he could protest. Remus closed his mouth. "Smiling that smile, chewing on those amazing lips when you're confused – and you expect me not to notice?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Exactly. Remus have you got any idea how hard it is to – stop laughing." Sirius narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Remus. Remus brought his lips in and suppressed his smile. "How hard it is to resist you? Do you know that every time you take off your cloak, uncovering your body I have to suppress the very prominent urge to rip off your clothing and ravish you senseless infront of everyone? And bloody hell I even end up getting hard just watching you drink your tea."  
  
Remus stopped and looked up at Sirius biting his lip. "Oooh... I'm sorry." He bit his lip again.  
  
Sirius took in a shaking breath and threw his hands in to the air. "Now you give me the look. You're going to be the death of me Remus Lupin."  
  
Remus smiled slightly and bit his lip again. "Well... at least you'll die happy..."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes and walked into the hall. Remus followed close behind him grabbing his butt and then walked quicker so that he would make it to the table first. He sat down beside James. Sirius sat down and quickly brought his robes infront of him.  
  
"What took you two so long?"  
  
"Something came up." Remus smiled.  
  
Sirius' eyes went wide as he looked at his plate, and his cheeks went red. James looked from Remus to Sirius, and back again with a confused look on his face. Then it dawned on him. "Oooh gross! You guuyys! That's disgusting!"  
  
Remus laughed happily and Sirius closed his eyes, his cheeks turning an even deeper shade of crimson.

* * *

The rest of the day had passed considerably quickly – though Peter had mixed the wrong ingredients in Potions causing his robes to go a violent shade of orange and pink, and Sirius had somehow managed to turn an iguana into a rat with a forked tongue and scales. The boys made their way back to the common room as soon as class had finished. They gathered in their usual secluded corner.  
  
"Alright, so here's what's going to happen. Peter, you'll be... _PETER_!" James smacked him upside the head. "Damnit! Pay attention – this is important."  
  
Peter rubbed his head and turned his attention away from Laura. "Yeah, sorry..."  
  
James rolled his eyes. "As I was saying, Peter you'll be in charge of luring Snape and Malfoy into this room." James pointed to a small classroom adjacent to the main foyer in the school.  
  
"How am I going to manage that?"  
  
"You'll tell them you know the answers to the upcoming Muggle Studies test."  
  
Remus reached into his bag and brought out a small booklet. "I made this up, so you'll be able to actually show them something."  
  
"Great! But what if they don't come with me."  
  
"Trust me, they'll come." Sirius smirked.  
  
"Yeah, they're always up for cheating. But anyway, Sirius and I will be waiting in this room, ready to cast the spell. Do you remember what it is, Sirius?"  
  
"Indeed I do."  
  
"Good. From there, Sirius and I will cast the spells – and then we have to push them into the foyer."  
  
"How are we going to do that?" Peter frowned.  
  
Remus rolled his eyes and leant forward as he looked up from his book. "Peter... you place your hands on their back, open the door, and push. Sirius and James will help."  
  
"...Oh... well then what?"  
  
"Then everyone laughs, and we get out of there as quickly as we can." Sirius smiled proudly.  
  
James nodded as he looked at him. "Yeah, and we're going to do it just as dinner is starting."  
  
"...Are you sure that's the right time to do it?"  
  
"Jesus Peter, we've been thinking this over for months. We know what we're doing." James nearly smacked Peter over the head.  
  
"Yeah, come on. Just trust us on this one." Sirius smiled and looked over at Remus. "You sure you don't want to help?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm sure. I did my job – I made the fake test."  
  
The boys went over the plan again, and after they were through, James headed upstairs to grab his invisibility cloak.  
  
"So you're really going through with it, aren't you?"  
  
"Well... Yeah." He turned to look at Lily. She crossed her eyes and looked down.  
  
"Why are you always so horrible towards them?" She looked up again, her eyebrows furrowed.  
  
"Because they're horrible to us." He stepped forward.  
  
Lily retreated a step. She looked deep into her eyes and shook her head as she walked away. "This will only cause more trouble. I don't understand any of you."  
  
James watched her leave and then moved into his room. He successfully found his Invisibility cloak and made it downstairs.  
  
"Alright... let's go."  
  
The 3 boys nodded and they made for the portrait.  
  
"Oh... Peter – take this." Remus handed him the folded parchment with the fake test on it. "You'll need to give it to them."  
  
"Yeah, thanks." Peter smiled and shoved it into his cloak.  
  
The boys walked in a line down towards the foyer, and Sirius spotted Lucius and Serverus first. "There they are! Peter... _move_!"  
  
Peter nodded and walked up to them. "Hey..."  
  
Lucius turned around and crossed his arms sneering. "What do you want, Pettigrew?"  
  
"It's not really a question of what I want... it's a question of what you want." Peter smiled slyly as he reached into this cloak. He showed them the corner of the parchment.  
  
Serverus's eyes went wide as he stared at it. "What is that?"  
  
Peter looked around and leaned forward. "The answers to the upcoming Muggle Studies test."  
  
Lucius eyed him. "Why are you giving it to us? For all we know it's fake."  
  
Peter's heart started to race. "It's not... trust me – I swiped it from the Professor's drawer myself."  
  
Serverus eyed him suspiciously and crossed his arms. "Why do you want to help us?"  
  
"Because I've shown everyone. It's only fair that I show you."  
  
"Typical Gryffindor." Lucius scoffed.  
  
"Shut up and follow me." Peter narrowed his eyes at him and led them both towards the designated room. "Get in." Peter opened the door and once they were inside, shut it quickly.  
  
Lucius and Snape had come face to face with two floating wands. Before Lucius and Serverus had the chance to reach for their own wands, they saw two streaks of magic come out of the end of their assailants wands, one of a purplish-blue tinge, the other a soft pink.  
  
The boys suddenly felt their robes change into dresses, and their hair change into a dramatic up do. Serverus looked down at his body and noticed that under the periwinkle colored dress, his chest was growing in size. His eyes flew open in shock as he stared at Lucius. His pink dress was a soft pink color, and the skirt was puffy - his chest was growing as well.  
  
"What the-" Serverus's hands instantly flew up towards his neck. His voice had gone up quite a few octaves. His face melted into a look of horror as Lucius spoke.  
  
"What in God's name did you do to us?" He gulped quickly when he noticed the change in his voice.  
  
Sirius, and James began to laugh uncontrollably as they flung off the invisibility cloak, and turned around the two young ladies and shoving them into the hallway.  
  
Everyone had stopped to look in the direction of the slammed door. Lucius and Serverus stood in the hallway, in their gowns, breasts, and high heels. Their faces contorted into looks of complete and utter bewilderment as everyone started to crowd around and laugh at them.  
  
"Wow! I didn't think that you two were into role-playing! Let alone eachother!" A man with dreadlocks named Jack Jordan stepped up.  
  
"Shut it Jordan!" Lucius immediately regretted speaking as his high, girlish voice rang out among the students.  
  
The crowd erupted in even more laughter. Somewhere in the crowd, Serverus heard girls chanting '_Snape and Malfoy – sitting in a tree... k-i-s-s-i-n- g!'._ Serverus made to storm out of the foyer when he lost his footing and fell flat on the ground, his dress somewhere above his head – exposing his frilly pink underwear for everyone to see. The laugher roared as Lucius tried to move to help him up – but it only resulted in the same thing.  
  
One girl pointed at his underwear and shouted above the crowd. "Nice fit, Malfoy! But the frills are a bit much, don't you think?"  
  
"What is going on?!" McGonagall hurriedly pushed her way infront of everyone. "Oh my..." She put her hand to her mouth as she gasped.  
  
"These ladies were just out for an evening stroll Professor." Jack smiled and gestured his arm towards Serverus and Lucius.  
  
"That is enough! Everyone to dinner! _NOW_!" McGonagall rushed forwards and took the boys by their arms, leading them off towards her office. Serverus and Lucius walked on weak ankles, trying not to trip again.

* * *

"That was _AMAZING_! Did you see their faces?!" Sirius fell into the couch and started to laugh.  
  
"Serverus did have a nice rack, I must admit." James took off his glasses as he rubbed his tearing eyes.  
  
Remus shook his head and smiled. He sat in on the couch next to Sirius who was still convulsing with laughter.  
  
James, Sirius and Peter all roared with laughter again as they spoke about the dresses. Each of the boys found it hard to breath – as they were laughing so hard. Remus simply sat on the couch and smiled at them, shaking his head.  
  
"Oh my God... that was fantastic." Sirius shook his head and wiped his eyes.  
  
"This is definitely going down in the books as the best prank yet." Peter smiled as he wiped his eyes.  
  
James nodded and immediately stopped laughing when he heard the portrait door open. All 4 boys looked towards the portrait in a dead silence.  
  
McGonagall stood with her arms crossed. "What in heavens name has gotten into you boys?"  
  
"I... we were just-" Sirius began.  
  
"50 points!"  
  
"What?" James gawked at her.  
  
"From each of you!"  
  
"But that's _200_ points Professor!" Sirius's mouth hung open and his eyes were wide.  
  
"Well, I'm glad that you are still capable of doing math, Mr. Black! This was completely uncalled for, and as your Head of House, I have decided that all four of you will receive two weeks worth of detention."  
  
"But Professor-"  
  
"No buts – do you want me to make it a month Mr. Potter? You will serve your detentions with Mr. Filch." She pursed her lips and made for the portrait.  
  
All of the boys sat in silence with shocked looks on their faces.  
  
"Shit." Sirius spoke loudly.  
  
"You said it." James sighed as he stood up. "I hate Hogwarts."  
  
"I can't believe we lost _200 _points." Peter growled as he stood, walking towards the portrait.  
  
"You two coming?" James turned around and looked at Remus and Sirius.  
  
"Not hungry." Sirius spoke as he stared at the ground.  
  
"Neither." Remus said quietly.  
  
"Alright... see you." James walked towards the portrait. "Gryffindor is going to kill us..."  
  
Remus and Sirius sat in silence. Remus had begun to play with a piece of loose fabric that was coming off of the couch. Sirius simply sat quietly looking into the fire.  
  
"I can't believe how horrible this turned out."  
  
"Yeah... I didn't expect it." Sirius spoke gently. "I mean... _200_ points Remy! We'll never win the house cup. Not to mention everyone is going to hate us once they find out."  
  
Remus moved over slowly and sat close to Sirius, bringing his knees up. Sirius then placed his arm around Remus's shoulders, resting his head on Remus'. Remus placed his arm on Sirius's warm thigh, and his hand underneath his thigh, near his knee.  
  
The boys sat in each other's arms for a while before Sirius spoke. "Why do you love me?"  
  
"Because you fill the empty part in my soul. You make me feel real and alive."  
  
"...Really?" Sirius spoke quietly, as if he didn't believe Remus.  
  
Remus moved his body and sat facing his boyfriend. "Siri..." He leant forward and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "You're an amazing person, your everything to me. Without you... I'm lost."  
  
Sirius looked towards the fire.  
  
Remus leant back and his whole body went cold and numb. "You're breaking up with me."  
  
Sirius looked at his boyfriend, tears stood in his amber eyes. Sirius leant forward and wiped away an escaped tear. "I wouldn't ever do that, Remy." Sirius moved his position and brought his legs up, crossing them.  
  
"Then... then why are you-"  
  
"Because I've never asked why before." He smiled and leant forward, kissing Remus. He felt a salty tear enter his mouth as he kissed him. Sirius took Remus in his arms and held him close. "Remus... I've never felt like this before... I've never loved someone so much that it hurt. I've never wanted to completely change who I was in order to make one person happy and risk loosing everyone else in my life." He pulled back and looked into Remus's eyes. "I wouldn't be able to live if you weren't by my side, fur and all."  
  
Remus broke into a small laugh and looked down. He ran his hands from Sirius' knees up his thighs. Remus looked up into Sirius's blue eyes. "Lily and I kissed..."  
  
Sirius nodded and smiled. "I know."  
  
"How?"  
  
"She told me when we got back from Hogsmede. She felt guilty about doing it."  
  
"You're not mad at us are you?"  
  
Sirius smiled again. "No." He put his hands on Remus's and leaned forward. "I don't think I have it in me to be mad at you." He kissed Remus again. "God... I can't get enough of you. It's like you're a drug of some kind."  
  
Remus laughed and moved his hands closer to Sirius's crotch. He looked down and smiled briefly. "I..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I... I want you to..."  
  
"Remus..."  
  
"I want you to take my virginity." 


	10. Chapter 10 : Hard R

**Chapter Rating = R - NC-17?** Eh.. I dunno - make it yourself. This is my favorite chapter.. I suppose it's because it's really emotional at the end (I think)

Thank-you for all of the fantastic reveiws so far. -smiles- On we go.  
**PS::** SidheLady - I worked off of your comment. I suppose the story has turned into "Remus/Sirius" now... -laughs happily-  
**PPS::** Yuroppa - Here! You can finally read. I know - I've been torturing you all day through MSN.. KUAHA! I hope it's worth the wait.

* * *

Sirius sat in silence staring at his boyfriends sandy hair. He watched his eyelashes blink. "You... want me to..."  
  
Remus looked up and smiled. He leant forward and kissed Sirius's lips. Sirius didn't kiss back. "Your in shock?"  
  
Sirius had a blank look on his face and his lips were slightly puckered. "I... err... yes."  
  
"Well you can't think that I would be with you forever and never want to have sex?"  
  
"Well I never thought you were serious."  
  
Remus laughed slightly. "I am serious." Remus shook his head slightly. "It's just that I... I need you... I need it. I want it."  
  
Sirius sat quietly and stared into Remus's eyes. "I've never had sex with a guy."  
  
The side of Remus's mouth hitched into a quick smile as he shifted his body and moved to straddle Sirius. Sirius uncrossed his legs and allowed Remus to sit on his thighs. Remus brought up his knees and let them rest slightly hugging Sirius's torso. Remus let his arms fall around Sirius's neck as he kissed him. Sirius allowed his arms encircle Remus's thin waist, and roam around his back. Remus bucked his hips slightly and enjoyed the slight moan that escaped from Sirius's throat.  
  
Remus looked down into Sirius' eyes and ran his fingers through his long black hair. "I've wanted to tell you for so long, but I kept getting scared."  
  
"You don't need to be scared of me, or scared of telling me anything."  
  
Remus smiled sweetly and gently kissed Sirius' reddening lips. He spoke into his mouth with his eyes closed. "I want you now..."  
  
Sirius nearly kissed him back when he heard the portrait door open. Remus quickly changed his position and sat with his legs crossed and his hands nearly folded over his groin. Sirius moved out from underneath him and sat facing Remus, stretching his legs over Remus's and placing a pillow over his crotch. He looked towards the fire, as did Remus.  
  
Lily's face appeared, followed by a large group of Gryffindor 7th years. They all walked towards Remus and Sirius.  
  
"You lost us 200 points." A young girl with brown hair sneered at them.  
  
Remus looked away from the fire and into her eyes. "But you'll never forget Snape and Malfoy's ample breasts, dresses, and frilly underwear, will you?"  
  
Her scowl melted into a small smile, as did everyone else's. "No... but still... 200 points guys."  
  
"We can earn it back. We just have to work really fucking hard." Sirius spoke still staring into the fire. Remus broke out into a smile glancing quickly at the pillow Sirius was holding. "Shut it Remy." Sirius smiled gently and looked over at the girl with brown hair. He then swung his legs off of Remus's. "Listen, we've already been beating ourselves up about this – and you aren't helping, Madeline... We know how many points we've lost, and we've all got 2 weeks detention with Filch. Us Gryffindors will just have to stick together and get back those 200 points."  
  
Madeline crossed her arms. Lily spoke before she could. "How do you propose we do that?"  
  
"Suck up to McGonagall-"  
  
"That won't totally work, she's still quite infuriated with us, Sirius." Remus leant forward slightly; making sure his crotch was still hidden. "We'll have to do well on tests, participate in class, be kind to all the Professors, and learn how to do well in Transfiguration – she'll have to give us points if we do well. It's virtually a teaching rule." Remus smiled at the 7th years.  
  
"But..."  
  
"Madeline, this can't really work against us. It's our 7th year – we don't have any more time to fool around. We may as well learn the material, use it to our advantages, and do well on the N.E.W.T's as opposed to not learning it and failing."  
  
Lily broke out into a smile and shook her head. "I swear your going to be a Professor here one day, Remus. You're too smart to not be one."  
  
Remus smiled at her. "What do you think, guys?"  
  
"We'll have to tell everyone else of our plans then." James stepped forward and smiled. "Thanks for the damage control, Remus."  
  
Remus grinned at him. "My pleasure."  
  
Sirius stood up and clasped his hands. "Alright... as soon as everyone is back here for curfew – we'll gather in the common room and tell all of them."  
  
"And if we fail?" Peter frowned.  
  
"We'll scare, beat, or force the plan on them." Sirius smiled and put his hands to his hips.  
  
"Siri..." Remus stood and groaned.  
  
"Ahh I was just kidding... I wouldn't beat someone smaller than me."  
  
"I beg to differ." Peter yelped as Sirius jumped forward with his arm raised slightly.  
  
"Sirius!" Remus grabbed his arm and stared sternly at him. "Don't."  
  
"Yeah... sorry."  
  
"I never thought I'd live to see the day when Sirius would become someone's bitch." James crossed his arms and everyone laughed.  
  
"I am not his bitch." Sirius narrowed his eyes at James. "You are just jealous because I get mad sex and you don't."  
  
Remus's eyes flew open as Sirius placed his arm firmly around Remus's waist. Remus buried his head in his hands. "Sirius..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"So you two really... you know... do it?" a short girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes stepped forward.  
  
Remus let his hands sink and he looked at Sirius. They both smirked at looked back at the blond girl. She blushed, taking it as a yes.  
  
James made a face. "Oooohh... that much I did not need to know. It was bad enough at lunch..." James made a gagging motion and leaned on Lily. "_'Something came up.'_ Jesus Christ."  
  
Remus and Sirius laughed. "Well it did." Sirius laughed as he looked down at Remus,  
  
"_Augh!!_ Come on! Stop it! I would like to keep down my bloody dinner."  
  
"Oh James, grow up." Lily rolled her eyes.  
  
James made a face at her and suffered a hard smack on the arm. "_Ow!_ Jesus!"  
  
"Lucky it wasn't a brussel sprout." Lily smirked as she walked towards the portrait door.  
  
"BAH! Freaking brussel sprouts." James smiled as she closed the portrait. "I swear she's out to get me."  
  
The crowd had started to thin out as the night wore on. The plan was relayed to everyone – and they all reluctantly agreed to it. After all, Remus was right – as he usually was. Later that night, Sirius and Remus wandered down to the kitchens to get some food.  
  
"So now everyone thinks we have mad sex."  
  
"Well... I'm sorry. I had to say it, and it's not like it's a total lie."  
  
"It's not a total lie... but I just don't want people knowing about it. It's not really their business." Remus sighed as he took Sirius' hand in his. His heart fluttered at the touch – his heart always fluttered when he touched Sirius.  
  
"I said I was sorry, Remy."  
  
"It's alright." Remus smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. "I still love you."  
  
"And I love you even though you don't want people to know that we will eventually have sex." Sirius smiled and opened the door for Remus to walk through.  
  
"Oh Siri, you'll get sex soon. I won't let your loins go un-noticed much longer."  
  
Sirius laughed and let the door swing shut. He walked up behind Remus, wrapping his arms around his waist. He dipped Remus back earning a yelp, and smiled, his hair falling around his face. "Only if we cuddle afterwards." Remus laughed and wrapped his arms around Sirius's neck as he swung him back again. "I love your laugh, your whole face brightens up."  
  
Remus smiled and half closed his eyes. He then leant forward and kissed Sirius gently.  
  
"Excuse me Sirs, but are you needing something?" A small elf with a round nose spoke slowly.  
  
Remus turned around; his lips still slightly puckered and pink. "Hello Igor." He smiled and let his arm trail down Sirius's, grabbing his hand. "Would you please fix us a serving of dinner?"  
  
"It would be my pleasure Sirs, please – sit!" Igor smiled brightly and ran over to a small table, pulling out the chairs. "What would you like Sirs?"  
  
"Whatever you have ready." Sirius smiled as he took his seat, loosening his tie. Remus sat across from him and crossed his legs.  
  
Igor bowed and rushed over towards the other House Elves. He soon appeared holding a large tray with two plates on it. He set the two plates infront of the two Gryffindor's and bowed. "What do you want for to drink Sirs?"  
  
"Pumpkin juice for me please."  
  
"Just some Earl Gray tea for me." Remus smiled as he took his utensils in hand. "Thank-you."  
  
Igor came back quickly with a pitcher of Pumpkin Juice and a kettle of Earl Gray tea. "Here you are Sirs!"  
  
"Thank-you Igor."  
  
"Yes, thank-you very much." Remus poured himself a cup of tea and began to stir it with his spoon.  
  
"Sirs are so kind! I shall leave you to eat now."  
  
Sirius and Remus smiled in thanks and began to eat their dinner. Remus ran a hand through his hair as he let his lips glide across his fork taking the food into his mouth. Remus allowed his hand to travel down the side of his neck, and slightly down his chest before he gracefully reached for his teacup. Remus heard a noise at the other end of the table and looked up from his tea, his lips slightly resting on the rim of the cup. He took the cup away from his mouth and looked at Sirius.  
  
Sirius was sitting with his fork in the air, with a piece of meat splattered on the table. His mouth hung slightly open as he watched Remus, his cheeks were a light pink shade.  
  
"...What?" Remus put down his teacup.  
  
Sirius blinked quickly and looked down. He picked up the piece of meat with his fingers and plopped it on his napkin. "Er... nothing..." Remus saw Sirius move a hand under the table.  
  
"You can't tell me that you're..."  
  
Sirius let out a nervous laugh and blushed a deeper shade of red. "Er... yeah... kind of."  
  
"Kind of?" Remus smiled and put down his fork. He stood up and walked around the table. "We're finished dinner. Come with me."  
  
Sirius obediently got to his feet. "Thank-you for dinner Igor."  
  
"Yes, Thank-you very much." Remus took Sirius's hand and led him out of the kitchen.  
  
"You are most welcome Sirs! Please come back soon!"  
  
Remus nodded and pushed Sirius through the door. Sirius went willingly and nearly tripped. Remus caught him before he went smashing to the ground and pushed him against the wall.  
  
"Tonight... you're mine." Remus smiled and slipped his hands into Sirius's robe. Remus pressed his lips to Sirius' and felt around his back. His hands traveled towards Sirius's pants.  
  
"Oh God..." Sirius placed a hand on the small of Remus's back, the other on his head. "Remy... Remus!"  
  
"What?" Remus stopped fiddling with Sirius's belt buckle and looked up, with a slight look of annoyance in his eyes.  
  
"Not here."  
  
"Then follow me... and do up your belt." Remus turned around quickly.  
  
"Remus? _REMUS!_ Jesus! Wait for me!" Sirius looked up and down fiddling with his buckle. "Oh fuck it." He abandoned his belt, and quickly walked after Remus.  
  
Remus grabbed his hand and smiled. He led him quickly to the Room of Requirement. As they got there, Sirius stopped and looked at the door.  
  
"What is this place?"  
  
"The Room Of Requirement. Think of a bedroom."  
  
"Err... why?"  
  
Remus smiled and grabbed his belt with his finger, curling it around the leather. "Just do it and come with me."  
  
"Ahh... okay." Sirius closed his eyes and allowed Remus to guide him through the door. When they entered, the room looked like a bedroom. "Oh wow..."  
  
"Yeah... cool huh?" Remus smiled and pushed Sirius against the wall. He let his hand travel down Sirius's front and towards his crotch. He cupped it again like he had done early that day and pressed his lips to Sirius'.  
  
"Mmmfph!" Sirius was about to speak before he had a pair of hot lips pressed against his. Sirius kissed Remus back and let his hands roam around Remus's back.  
  
Remus slowly began to move Sirius away from the wall, taking Sirius's shirt off as he moved. They slowly moved towards the bed. He kept his lips pressed to Sirius', and pushed him on the bed. Remus quickly undid his own shirt and pulled it off.  
  
"Jesus Remy... I've never seen you like this before..." Sirius propped himself up on his elbows and watched Remus fling his shirt to the side. He smiled as Remus loosened his tie, throwing it on top of his discarded shirt.  
  
Remus simply smiled and kneeled down on the ground. He moved to take off Sirius' belt when hands stopped him.  
  
"Are you sure you want to?"  
  
Remus looked up into his eyes. Sirius was being sincere. "Yes, Sirius Black. I want to do this... more than ever."  
  
Sirius smiled and moved his hand away from Remus's, steadying himself again. Remus looked down again and began to fiddle with his belt. Be managed to get it out of the hoops and it was accompanied by a slight snapping sound once he had gotten it off of the last hoop. He threw it onto the floor and undid the button and zipper on Sirius's pants.  
  
Sirius moved slightly off of the bed letting Remus take his pants off. Remus smiled at the prominent bulge that was currently concealed in Sirius's pants. Remus slid Sirius' pants off as well as his socks. He flipped his head back up, smiling at Sirius. His hair fell loosely around his face as he straightened his legs. Remus slid his hands up Sirius's thighs.  
  
"Oh my God..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're fast..."  
  
Remus laughed and bent forward to kiss Sirius's belly button. His fingers quickly found the waistband to Sirius's boxers, and moved to slide them down.  
  
"Stop..."  
  
"Why?" Remus frowned.  
  
"Stand up."  
  
"Err... what for?"  
  
"Just do it." Sirius smiled and leaned forward. He watched as Remus stood up.  
  
Sirius scooted forward on the bed and started to undo Remus's buckle. He kissed Remus's bare stomach and slid the belt out of the hoops. Remus ran his fingers through Sirius's hair smiling. Sirius slipped his pants past his slender, scarred hips and down his legs. Remus moved gracefully as he pulled his pants off of his legs as well as his socks.  
  
Remus leant forward kissing Sirius's forehead. He pushed him gently back on the bed. "Now can I take off your boxers?"  
  
"Mmm..." Sirius spoke quietly.  
  
Remus smiled and let his hands run down the length of Sirius's torso, bringing goose bumps as they moved. He found Sirius's waistband and tugged it down. Sirius slightly thrusted his hips up as Remus slid the boxers off his body. He threw his boxers to the side and smiled up at Sirius.  
  
Remus's heart began to pound as his hands moved closer to Sirius' erect manhood. Remus took a deep breath and encircled his hand around the base of his penis. This was the first time he had touched Sirius. He was delighted to hear Sirius emit a light moan at the touch. Remus smiled as he placed the tip of his lips over the head of Sirius's penis. It didn't taste odd as he thought it would. He didn't feel afraid anymore.  
  
Remus felt Sirius's muscles tighten as he sat up slightly. Remus didn't stop, but rather began to pump his hand up and down the length of his shaft. Remus flicked his tongue around the tip of Sirius's penis. He pumped his hand faster and worked the tip of Sirius's penis with a bit more confidence as he felt Sirius's breath quicken and his body tighten.  
  
Remus stopped and moved quickly towards Sirius's face. He laid his body nearly on top of Sirius's and spoke softly in his ear. "I want to feel you in me..."  
  
Sirius nodded slightly and his heart began to pound. _'This is it...'_ Sirius sat slowly and trailed his hand down Remus's torso. He found Remus's boxers and took them off. He then let his hand find Remus' penis and slowly began to work his fingers around it while he kissed Remus' neck. He moaned softly into Sirius's ear. Sirius slowly pushed Remus down so that he was lying on his back. Sirius kissed Remus's lips tenderly.  
  
"Spread your legs..." Remus nodded his head and did as he was told. Sirius put his fingers into his mouth, wetting them. "This might hurt..." Remus bit his lip again and nodded. Sirius kissed his collarbone and slowly inserted his fingers into Remus. Remus gasped faintly and bit down harder on his bottom lip. "That's okay?"  
  
"Mmm..." Remus nodded his head and smiled slightly. He closed his eyes.  
  
"Okay..." Sirius moved on top of him and scissored his fingers, creating a larger entrance. Remus moaned and let his cheek meet the mattress. "You ready?"  
  
"...Yes."  
  
"Okay..." Sirius leant forward slightly and kissed Remus's neck. He spoke softly into Remus's ear. "I'll be as gentle as I can." He felt Remus nod against his cheek.  
  
Sirius took a hold of his penis and placed it over the exposed entrance. "Relax..." He slowly and carefully entered Remus. He felt the grip that Remus had on his shoulders tighten slightly, and his breath hitch. Sirius stopped moving, only half in.  
  
"No... keep going." Remus spoke quietly into his ear and kissed his earlobe. "I want this."  
  
Sirius nodded slightly and pushed the rest of his length inside him. His heart began to pound quickly. "Is that okay?"  
  
"Mmm..." Remus moved his head slightly and kissed Sirius's jawbone. He readjusted his legs ever so slightly to try to make himself more comfortable. He breathed into Sirius's ear.  
  
Sirius began to slowly thrust in and out of Remus. He was trying to be as careful as he could, constantly wetting the area to reduce any painful friction. Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius's waist and bucked his hips slightly, meeting a slow trust.  
  
"...Faster." He moaned quietly into Sirius' ear, and felt the pace quicken. His face contorted into one of pain, only a good pain. He took a deep breath and met another thrust with his slender hips. "Oh God..."  
  
Sirius smiled into Remus's hair and quickened the pace a little bit more. He moaned slightly and reached down to stroke Remus's penis.  
  
Remus clawed lightly at Sirius' sweaty back and wrapped his legs around Sirius's butt. Remus never wanted this feeling to end. Sirius flipped his head, letting his hair fly to the other side of his face. He was chewing on his bottom lip and his eyes were closed. Remus opened his own eyes and looked at Sirius.  
  
"Kiss me."  
  
Sirius looked over at him, his cheeks a bright red color, and laid his lips onto Remus's. The boys kissed eachother with the greatest of tenderness. Sirius then laid his cheek on Remus's.  
  
"God I love you Remus... I love you so much..."  
  
Remus bucked his hips slightly and bit his lip. He recognized this feeling from when they were in the shower. "I love you too Sirius." Remus moved his head and kissed Sirius's cheek.  
  
The boys met eachother thrusts, and Sirius felt his body tighten; both of them where within seconds of climax. Remus clawed at Sirius' back and kissed his lips. He felt his body fill with a warm liquid, and gasped slightly at his own release.  
  
Remus suddenly felt something within him change. He couldn't explain what it was, but he felt completely connected to Sirius at that moment. He felt his heart lighten and his mind was suddenly bursting full of colors and images. He couldn't make out any of the images – but he knew that they all involved Sirius. Remus's amber eyes flung open and he stared at the ceiling.  
  
Sirius lay on top of Remus panting; he was still inside of him. Remus felt wetness on his shoulder. He looked down and noticed that Sirius was crying.  
  
"Why... why are you crying?" He lightly stroked Sirius' hair and felt him pull out. He took in a soft breath and watched as Sirius lay on his back. Remus leant forward and intertwined his fingers with Sirius'.  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
Remus smiled softly and leant forward, kissing his tears. Sirius looked up into his eyes and gasped slightly. Remus furrowed his eyebrows.  
  
"Your eyes..."  
  
"What about them?"  
  
"I've never seen them this color..." Sirius sat forward and placed his hand on Remus' cheek. "They look completely different... before... it was like they were clouded over or dull... now... now they're a brilliant intense amber color..."  
  
Remus smiled slightly. He guessed that it was because the bond had been completed, but didn't say anything. "Oh." Remus looked up into his eyes. Sirius looked almost angelic when he cried. He ran his fingers along Sirius' warm cheeks and wiped away his tears. He leant forward and tenderly kissed Sirius' lips. He spoke in a very soft and gentle tone. "Thank-you for loving me." 


	11. Chapter 11

First of all - I don't usually do this, but I feel that it needs to be said.

This goes to a reveiwer named **Roxanne Barnett**: Your words touched me in a way that no others have. I've always been iffy about my work - always thinking that I could do better. Though when you told me the things you did - it nearly brought tears to my eyes. I've never had anyone say such a thing about my writing until you. So... this Chapter is dedicated to you. Thank-you for your kind words, you have no idea how much they mean to me and how much I treasure them. Words are simple to string together - but the meaning behind them is something special all together. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart.

* * *

Morning came and the boys had made their way back to the dorms without being noticed. Remus slept soundly through the night, as did Sirius.  
  
"Wake up you two, you're going to miss breakfast." James stood in-between Remus and Sirius' beds and put his hands on his hips. "Come on, just get up." He took the blankets off of both the boys.  
  
Sirius curled up into a fetal position and squeaked when the blanket came off. "AH! Give it back James!"  
  
"No. Get up."  
  
Remus turned to lie on his back and let out a light yelp.  
  
"What's wrong, Remus?" James sat down on the bed beside his friend and stared at him.  
  
"What? Oh... nothing." Remus tried to sit up but only cringed. "_Ow_..."  
  
"Remy?" Sirius sat up at stared at his boyfriend.  
  
Remus flung his legs over the side of the bed with great effort and smiled. "Siri?"  
  
"You're okay... you know... umm..."  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine – it's just really tender."  
  
James looked from one boy to the next. "What, did you hurt your leg or something?"  
  
"Err... yeah." Remus answered quickly and stood up. He walked slowly towards his trunk. He was suddenly glad that James didn't notice the looks between the two boys, nor the color of his eyes.  
  
"I don't see you limping." James stood up and crossed his arms, staring at his friends back.  
  
"It only hurts when I put pressure on it..." Remus turned and smiled quickly at his friend, however, when he turned around again his face constricted in pain. _'Bloody hell OW... Lube is a must next time...'  
_  
"Yeah. All right. Just get dressed and I'll meet you two downstairs in 10 minutes." James smiled quickly and walked swiftly out of the room – grabbing his bag as he went.  
  
Sirius came up behind his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around his waist. He whispered into his ear. "Is it really that sore...?" his voice carried a hint of guilt.  
  
"Yeah... but it'll stop hurting in a while." _'God I hope it stops hurting...'_ Remus smiled and turned around. "Lube is a must next time."  
  
Sirius threw his head back and laughed. Once he had quieted down he looked into Remus' eyes. "I'm sorry I hurt you."  
  
Remus smiled and spoke quietly into Sirius' ear. "The only reason it hurts is because I'm not used to having your dick inside me." He winked. "And bloody hell is it ever _large_."  
  
Sirius looked down and blushed. He looked off to the side then quickly back at Remus. "Well next time it'll be my ass that hurts." He kissed Remus' neck quickly and moved to find his things.  
  
Remus smiled to himself and bent over to gather his clothing. Remus took a longer time than Sirius to get dressed – for obvious reasons. The boys grabbed their book bags, brushed their teeth and hair, and started down stairs. As soon as Remus stepped down on the first stair he yelped.  
  
"Holy Mother of God!" Remus stopped and stood for a second to regain his composure. He looked over at Sirius. His expression was a mix between surprise, guilt, and trying not to laugh. "Oh... um... Sorry."  
  
"That's err... fine. Want me to carry you then?"  
  
"Oh no... I'm fine. I'll just restrain from yelling out colorful sentences." He smiled sheepishly and took the next step. He rolled his eyes and bit his lip. _'I will not yelp, I will not yelp, I will not yelp...' _"JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!"  
  
Lily came up behind them and her eyes were wide. She removed her hand from Remus's butt. "I... err... I'm sorry Remy."  
  
Remus smiled quickly and wiped at his eyes. "That's ok, Lily." He let her pass and looked at Sirius. His cheeks were bright red from embarrassment.  
  
"Jeeze Remy..." Sirius came closer and wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's waist. He then bent down and put his other arm under Remus's knees. He hoisted Remus into his arms, and carried him the rest of the way down the stairs.  
  
"Awww, look! Here comes the bride and groom!" James snickered as Sirius set Remus down on his feet.  
  
"Remus isn't a woman." He sneered over at his friend.  
  
"I wasn't referring to Remus."  
  
"Why you little-" Sirius made to grab for James but was stopped immediately by a hand on the back of his cloak. Sirius nearly fell over from the strength that was holding him back.  
  
"Just leave it Sirius." Remus frowned at him and let go of his cloak. "He was just playing around."  
  
"Whatever." Sirius glared at James and moved towards the portrait. "I'll see you later. Detention tonight. Don't miss it." With that the portrait closed.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with him?" James looked over at Remus with his eyebrow raised, a small sneer still visible on his lips.  
  
"... Nevermind."  
  
"What, now you're pissed at me too?" James picked up his bag and flung it over his shoulder.  
  
"No, I'm not... I'll tell you later alright?" Remus stepped up beside him and moved towards the portrait.  
  
"Yeah..." James frowned as he opened the portrait. "C'mon Lily."  
  
"Yes! I'm coming!" She hurried up behind them and shut the portrait after herself.  
  
...  
  
The day went by slowly. Divination was spent reading again, Potions was spent taking notes on the Beautification Potion, and Charms was spent trying to learn how to master the Freezing Charm. The time for lunch had eventually come, and Sirius was still in a sour mood from that morning.  
  
"Listen, Sirius... I'm sorry." James spoke quietly as he looked into his friend's eyes.  
  
Sirius looked down at his plate and toyed with the food on his plate. "Yeah. Whatever."  
  
James took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. Remus slowly sat down beside him and yelped slightly as his butt touched the chair. Sitting all day wasn't helping his current situation. "Just go numb already..."  
  
"What was that, Remus?" James looked over at his friend. "Just go what?"  
  
"Huh?" Remus looked up from the table and over at James.  
  
"What did you just say?"  
  
"Huh?" He smiled faintly.  
  
"No, Remus – what did you just say."  
  
"Huh. I said Huh." He smiled slyly and looked over at Sirius. He cracked a smile and put his food in his mouth.  
  
James shook his head and looked over at Sirius. "We have Transfiguration next."  
  
Sirius looked up a trace of a smile still on his lips. Though that smile faded when he met eyes with James. "Yeah... we do."  
  
James looked angrily at his plate and breathed heavily. "I'm gone. See you later." He slammed down his fork and knife and left the hall in a rush, leaving his book bag behind.  
  
"What's wrong with him?" Peter furrowed his eyebrows together and frowned.  
  
"It's not a matter of what, more than it is a matter of whom." Remus spoke quietly as he looked into the depths of his tea, taking a sip. He then looked up at Sirius.  
  
"But I... he called me a-"  
  
"That shouldn't matter, Sirius. He's your best friend. You should have known he was kidding."  
  
Sirius took a deep breath and looked into Remus's eyes. They were still the same color as they were the night before. "Your eyes look beautiful."  
  
"Thank-you. But stop trying to snake your way around the problem at hand, Siri." Remus looked down into his tea once again. "Go talk to James."  
  
"Well I don't know where he is, Remus." He added Remus's name, almost as if he was trying to insult him.  
  
Remus took notice and looked up at Sirius. His amber eyes suddenly flashed a bright yellow color and then deepened back into the brilliant amber. "He's headed towards the Transfiguration Room. Take his bag with you, he forgot it." He added a smile.  
  
"You're eyes just-"  
  
"Nevermind my eyes. Go talk to James." Remus smiled again, trying to hide his frustration.  
  
Sirius suddenly felt an unknown force trying to push him onto his feet. He resisted it with great effort, pushed his plate to the side, and crossed his arms on the table – all the while looking into Remus's eyes. "I'll talk to him later."  
  
Remus set down his teacup and blinked. "Very well." He bent over to pick up James' bag. Remus moved to stand up, and felt a hand on his arm. Remus looked down at the hand and then followed the arm from the hand to the face, towards the person to which it belonged. His eyes again flashed yellow. The hand didn't let go, it's grip only tightened.  
  
"Sit down. I'll go to him, okay?"  
  
"Don't bother." Remus looked into Sirius' eyes, allowing his eyes to return back to their now normal color. He then shook off the hand and walked swiftly towards the door, swinging both his and James' bags over his shoulder.  
  
Remus directed himself towards the Transfiguration classroom and spotted James leaning against the wall. He had crossed his arms, one hand held his circular glasses – the other was over his eyes.  
  
Remus walked quietly towards him. James didn't look up when he felt his bag fall beside his feet.  
  
"James..."  
  
James wiped his eyes and looked at Remus. His voice was hoarse. "Why does he always do this to me? Why does he always get so defensive over stupid little comments?" He looked down and crossed his arms together. He shook his head as he spoke. "I didn't mean for him to take offence to what I said..." He sniffed back another round of tears.  
  
Remus placed a warm hand to James's cheek. He pulled James into a hug. James rested his head on Remus's shoulder and cried silently. Remus ran his hand along James' back in a comforting motion – the way his mother used to comfort him when he cried. "Shh..." He ran his fingers through James' hair and massaged his head. James' crying eventually ceased, and he merely stood in Remus' embrace – enjoying the overwhelming amount of love, and calmness that he suddenly felt radiating off of his friend.  
  
James leant back and looked into Remus's eyes. They were soft and gentle as they looked back into his hazel eyes. Remus let his hand travel down the side of James's neck and down his arm. He rested his hand on James'. James stared into his friend's eyes and felt the tears of hurt rising again. He looked down and let the tears flow. "I hate him... I really do."  
  
Remus shook his head and took his friend back into his arms. He ran his hand along his back again and swayed gently from left to right. "No you don't, Jamie..." He ran his hands along his back and began to softly hum a song into James' ear. He felt James heave a sigh into his shoulder and wrap his arms around Remus' back. Remus smiled into his messy hair and ran a hand along the nape of his neck, slowly finding his hair. He ran his fingers through his hair again and massaged the same place. James' tears seemed to stop flowing as soon as Remus touched that area on the back of his head. He leant back slowly and rested himself against the wall, still holding Remus.  
  
"Why does he do this to me?"  
  
Remus spoke softly. "I don't know."  
  
James sighed and looked down, vaguely aware that he was still holding Remus' waist, and that Remus still had his hands on his shoulders. "I hate how he treats me."  
  
"He doesn't treat you badly all the time, Jamie. He does love you. This happens to everyone in a friendship... feelings get hurt, apologies are given, received, and accepted. Hearts are broken and mended," Remus smiled softly and brushed the hair out of James' eyes with the greatest amount of care and love. "You've touched his life in a way that no other person will ever be able to, Jamie. You have helped to mold him into the person he is today. He is who he is very largely because of you."  
  
James couldn't help but smile. He spoke quietly still looking at the ground. "He doesn't deserve someone as amazing as you."  
  
Remus placed two gentle fingers underneath James' chin and forced him to look up. "You may not think that he deserves me Jamie, but I deserve him. He fills all of the empty places in my soul and he makes me truly happy. Without a doubt, he is everything to me." Remus smiled and pulled James into another hug and spoke softly as he stroked James' hair. "He is still trying to find out who he is inside. He's still very lost as to the kind of person he wants to be – and ultimately what he wants to be when our time at Hogwarts is over. This is the time in both of your lives that you need eachother to be at your sides, as you both grow and change as people." Remus felt James nod against his shoulder.  
  
"Thank-you." He leant back and placed a kiss to Remus' cheek. "Thank-you for everything."  
  
Remus smiled quietly and ended the hug. "You're alright now?"  
  
James rubbed his eyes and nodded, putting his glasses back on. "Yeah... I guess." James sighed and picked up his school bag. He looked down the hall and his eyes caught Sirius'. He spoke still looking at Sirius. "Mind if we sit together for just this class, Remy?"  
  
"Sure." He smiled and propped himself beside the wall infront of James. He looked forward and read the various plaques mounted on the wall signifying championships the school has received.  
  
Sirius came up beside them and stood beside Remus. He looked at Remus from the corner of his eye then to James. "I... I'm sorry."  
  
James smiled slightly as he held out his hand. "It's alright." A few moments before and that apology would have gone by unnoticed – if it weren't for Remus.  
  
Sirius took his hand and pulled him into a hug. He spoke quietly into his ear. "I mean it... I'm really sorry."  
  
James smiled and hugged him back briefly before the two boys separated. "I know, and it's okay."  
  
Remus smiled gently as he looked at Sirius. Sirius looked down at his feet. Lily came past him and took James' hand, leading him slowly away from the two boys. She knew that they needed a bit of privacy.  
  
"Siri... look at me."  
  
Sirius looked up into his eyes. His face was clouded over with sadness. He bit his bottom lip as it began to tremble. Remus smiled gently and reached over taking Sirius' larger hand in his. He pulled Sirius into a gentle hug and his heart fluttered when he felt Sirius' hot breath caress his neck as laid his head in the curve of his shoulder. He let his hands find his cloak and go underneath it. Remus ran his hands along the tight muscles on his back, feeling them through the thin material of his shirt. He felt warm and happy. "My Siri doesn't cry infront of anyone but me." Remus felt Sirius laugh and only pulled him closer.  
  
"You aren't mad at me for being such a prick to James?" Sirius spoke quietly, still letting his head rest on Remus' shoulder.  
  
"A little." Remus visibly shuttered again when he felt Sirius' breath on his neck as he breathed out. It amazed him how something as simple as breathing could make his knees go weak, and his heart pound madly. He felt Sirius kiss the pulse point on his neck very gently, hardly letting his lips rest there for more than a fraction of a second. Remus couldn't help but let a small moan escape his lips, one intended for only for Sirius to hear.  
  
Sirius let go of Remus and took his hand. "I'm going to sit with Lily and Peter today... that's alright?"  
  
Remus' looked up at Sirius with slightly glazed over eyes. "Mhm. That's fine – I was going to sit with James anyway."  
  
Sirius laughed at the expression on Remus' face as they walked into the room – 5 minutes before the rest of the class entered. Sirius took a seat behind Remus and smiled when Remus gasped slightly when he turned to face him. He leant over the desk and took Sirius' hands. He looked deeply into Sirius' eyes – the eyes of the man he so dearly loved. He leant forward and gently kissed his warm lips. He let Sirius part his lips with a gentle nudge of his warm, wet tongue. He enjoyed the sensation of feeling Sirius' tongue in his mouth. Remus parted his lips slightly more, allowing for more of Sirius' tongue to enter his mouth. Remus gently stroked the top of Sirius' hand with his thumb as they kissed. The two stopped kissing and rested their foreheads on each other's. They both smiled and looked down at their entwined hands, silently exploring the other's hands with their fingers.  
  
For the first time since Remus and Sirius had been involved, James saw how much they truly loved eachother. It was this simple gesture of stroking each other's hands lovingly and smiling so peacefully together that made James believe in true love. He had never seen the two as they were now, so completely involved with each other – ignoring all the people filtering into the room around them. Even the noise of the room could not disrupt the moment the two were sharing. James smiled silently and turned to open his book.  
  
Sirius traced the faint scar on the top of Remus' hand. _'I love you Remus Lupin...'_ He smiled to himself.  
  
"And I love you Sirius Black." Remus spoke quietly and smiled slightly squeezing Sirius' hand. Sirius looked up at him with a quizzical look on his face. "What?"  
  
"I... I didn't say that aloud."  
  
"Sure you did... I heard you say it."  
  
"No... No I honestly didn't say anything aloud, Remy."  
  
"But I heard you say it."  
  
"He didn't say anything mate." James leant back and raised his eyebrows.  
  
Remus looked from James to Sirius. He then dropped his eyes and let go of Sirius' hands. "... Oh."  
  
Sirius smiled and leant forward placing a gentle kiss to Remus' cheekbone. "Don't worry about it."  
  
Remus smiled and kissed Sirius' cheek in return. He then turned around in his seat, just as Professor McGonagall stepped out of her private room.  
  
"Wands out class." She stepped infront of them and frowned in the direction of the Marauders. "Do hurry Mr. Pettigrew."  
  
"Yes Ma'am." He hurriedly got out his wand and placed it infront of him.  
  
"Does anyone remember what we will be doing in today's class?" A small blonde girl raised her hand timidly into the air. "Yes Miss. Williams?"  
  
"We will be turning stone objects into something real. For example, turning a stone fish into a plant."  
  
"Very good. 5 points to Gryffindor." McGonagall smiled slightly. "Can anyone else elaborate on what she has already said?" Remus' hand quickly flew into the air before anyone else's. McGonagall turned her attention to him. "Mr. Lupin?"  
  
"The spell will be very hard to achieve – as the two objects have virtually nothing in common. Even though the two objects do come from the earth – they are made of different substances – thus making the relation between the two almost nil. To successfully turn a stone object such as a fish, into a plant will require a great deal of concentration and has the possibility to go very wrong if preformed incorrectly."  
  
"Excellent! 10 points to Gryffindor." She smiled warmly at him.  
  
The rest of the class was spent reading through the text, and performing the spell. 3 of the Gryffindor students had successfully preformed the spell – and won their house 30 points – bringing that days total up to 45 points. As the bell rang, McGonagall motioned for the four Marauders to come up to her desk.  
  
"You four will be taking detention tonight with Mr. Filch – as you remember. Mr. Potter and Mr. Lupin you will be paired tonight, Mr. Black and Mr. Pettigrew, you will be the other pair."  
  
"Ma'am... why are we serving detention in pairs?" Peter spoke quietly.  
  
McGonagall crossed her arms and stared down at the boy. "Because that is how it has been arranged. Mr. Filch will inform you of your duties when you get to the Dungeon. Be there at 8 o'clock – and do not be late." She smiled slightly and turned to leave. "You are dismissed."  
  
"Yes Ma'am." All four boys spoke in unison as they watched her leave the room.  
  
"Great... It's going to be a lovely evening in the presence of the ever charming Filch." Sirius sighed and took Remus' hand in his.  
  
"Oh it won't be that bad, Sirius."  
  
Just as Remus spoke, Filch happened to walk by. His greasy face set on the boys. On his chapped, thin lips spread the most gruesome smile any of the boys had ever seen. Filch then let out a low grow as he stared at the boys, narrowing his eyes. He passed them quickly shouting at a random student to get out of his way. The girl let out a yelp as he walked past. She looked as if she was going to burst into tears.  
  
"My ass it won't be that bad." Sirius growled as they passed him. "Tonight... is going to seriously _suck_."


	12. Chapter 12

ALRIGHT! After this chapter - I wont' be posting another one for about a week or so. Since I am either going camping in British Columbia _**(WOOOOOT!!!!!!!!!!!)**_ Or just hanging around my house for a bloody _BOILING _week with the lovely Tracey.

Tracey dearest has been helping me with this story - she'll know the parts. So THANK-YOU Miss. Tracey for the help! This would have gone to the shitter (no pun intended for further in the chapter.. teehee!) If you hadn't have helpded.

Also - I've got HUGE plans for this story. It's _far_ from being over. Enjoy the angsty-goodness. -smiles- On with the story!

* * *

Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter all made their way down to the dungeons after dinner was finished.  
  
"I feel like I'm walking to my own hanging." James sighed as he kicked a loose pebble as he skipped down the stairs. "Someone start humming the death march song already."  
  
"Oh come on James! It won't be that bad." Remus rolled his eyes and slowly descended the stairs. _'Let there be something soft to sit on... GOD please let there be something soft...'_ He still idly hoped for that to be true - even though he knew it wouldn't be.  
  
"How long do you think Filch'll-" Peter was suddenly interrupted by a low growling voice.  
  
"As long as it takes for you dunderheads to get the job finished." He smiled slyly as the four boys passed him. "Tonight you'll be cleaning out chamber pots."  
  
"What? Chamber pots? You've _GOT_ to be kidding!" Sirius spoke to quickly.  
  
"Yes. And you'll get the biggest lot Black! Just because of that little comment." Filch sneered at him and led the boys to the back room in the dungeon.  
  
The room was filled with different sorts of small pots all containing liquids. It smelled absolutely putrid down there. The heat was unbearable – and Remus' stomach was threatening to let him relive what he ate for dinner.  
  
"You two – that room over there." Filch pointed to a small room to the left, which was also filled with the same thing in the room they were currently in. Remus and James nodded walking over towards the room.  
  
"Um... Mr. Filch – what are we using to clean these things...?" James scratched the back of his head as he eyed the pots.  
  
"Your hands, and this." He shoved a small bucket of soapy water and two worn out cloths at the two boys. "Roll up your sleeves – you won't be leaving until everyone of these pots is clean." Filch closed the door behind Remus and James. He snickered to himself as he pushed Sirius and Peter in the opposite direction.  
  
James and Remus walked through the door and sighed. "At least there's less in this room than in the other..." James sighed as he knelt down on the ground.  
  
"Yeah..." Remus made to kneel down but instead ended up practically screaming bloody murder his butt hit the floor. He had slipped on waste. "Ohh... gross..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I just slipped in shit..."  
  
"Is that why you screamed so loud?" James tried to stifle a smile.  
  
"...Er no."  
  
"Then what, your leg?" James leant over and helped Remus up onto his knees.  
  
"No. My leg hasn't been hurt." Remus then closed his eyes quickly and regretted what he had said.  
  
"But you said this morning that you hurt it." James eyed him suspiciously as he held a ratted gray cloth in his hand.  
  
"I... err..."  
  
"What is it then?"  
  
"I... we... that is to say Sirius and I... well..." Remus looked down and began to rub the side of a dirty pot with his own cloth.  
  
"Uh-huh?" James looked down at his pot and scrunched his nose before returning his gaze to Remus. "Spit it out."  
  
"I... we... the other night-"  
  
"You had hot, steamy buttsex and _that's_ why you yelp every time you sit down?" James laughed at his own joke.  
  
Remus's face turned red and he bowed his head. He looked into the pot and nodded his head. "That's exactly what happened."  
  
James' flew wide open and he gagged slightly – from both the smell and what he had just heard. "You... and Sirius... _Oh God_..." James nearly threw up but somehow he managed to keep his dinner down as he stared at the pot, scrubbing it harder then before – as if he was trying to clean the memory of what had just happened away. He definitely didn't want to think of his two friends having sex.  
  
"Well you wanted to know..."  
  
James looked at him and scrunched up his nose again. "I... forget I asked..." he shuttered again and set the already thrice-cleaned pot to the side – grabbing for a new one.  
  
The two boys cleaned the pots in silence for a good half hour, before James spoke again in a timid voice.  
  
"Remus?"  
  
"James?"  
  
James smiled slightly and looked down at his cloth. "I... What's it like?"  
  
"What's what like?"  
  
"...Sex." He blushed and looked down.  
  
"Err..."  
  
"I don't want you to think that I'm in to... er your kind of sex, or that I'm a pervert who likes getting off on other peoples' sex lives or anything. I just... I just want to know..." He spoke quickly and quietly as he looked at Remus.  
  
Remus smiled gently. "I don't think you're a pervert or in to... 'my kind of sex'." He laughed to himself and set a cleaned pot aside. "But as what it's like... it's different."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Hmm... well... different than getting a blowjob or jacking off." He smiled slightly – surprised that he had said those words.  
  
"Well yeah... but what else?" James was suddenly interested. He then thought that he sounded desperate to know and cleared his throat. "I mean... if you want to tell me."  
  
Remus laughed quietly. "It's amazing really. It felt amazing. It wasn't like anything else I've ever felt before. It was so much more than just 'getting off'."  
  
"...Oh."  
  
"I don't really know how to explain it to you..." Remus looked down and chipped off a piece of waste from the pot. He dunked his cloth into the murky water and continued to clean. "It was really scary at first... and it hurt."  
  
"It... it hurt?" James looked down at his pants, his eyes slightly wide.  
  
Remus laughed. "Well... yeah. I've never had Sirius inside me before."  
  
"I... err..." James' face went bright red as he looked down.  
  
Remus smiled gently. "It'll be completely different for you though. I don't imagine that you will be having sex with a guy."  
  
"Yeah... But I suppose it wouldn't be that bad to try one of these days."  
  
"With a guy?" Remus' eyes were slightly wider then normal.  
  
"What?! NO! No! With a girl... try with a girl!" James shook his head and looked down.  
  
Remus smiled nervously and looked down. For a brief second he thought that James would want to try to have sex with him or Sirius. He thanked God that he meant with a girl.  
  
"Why'd you hug me in the hall?"  
  
"You're all questions tonight aren't you?"  
  
James rolled his eyes and grabbed for another pot. "Whatever. Don't answer if you don't want to."  
  
Remus sighed. "Don't even try to pull that one on me. I was just kidding Jamie. And I hugged you because you needed it."  
  
"How did you know I needed a hug?"  
  
"Because... I... well... actually I don't know... I just knew that you did."  
  
"And what was that business with that place on the back of my head you touched? As soon as you touched that place I stopped crying."  
  
Remus looked up at him. "Oh that? My mum used to do that to me when I was upset... I don't know why or how it works – but it works. So I tried it on you."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Do you really love Sirius?"  
  
"Of course I do... why would you ask that?"  
  
"I don't know... I just... when I watched you two today in McGonagall's class it hit me that you two really are together and in love." James spoke quietly as he placed his cloth back in the bucket, trying to rinse it out. "I didn't think that you two really loved eachother like that."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like you'd die for eachother kind of love. Like the kind of love you see in the movies."  
  
Remus laughed slightly. "It's not always like that."  
  
"Well of course it isn't... but you two still really do truly love eachother. I guess I was just to blind to really see it a long time ago."  
  
"A long time ago?"  
  
"Sirius told me that he felt something other then friendship for you since 1st year. Before we left for the year he took me aside and told me that there was something different about you, and he couldn't really explain the way he felt towards you. He told me it was more than just loving you like a brother... or... different than that or something." James looked up into a face of complete surprise; no... shock was more like it. "What?"  
  
"He... you.... I never knew that."  
  
"Oh... well I thought he would have told you that." James suddenly felt bad for telling Remus what Sirius had said before Sirius had the chance to tell him.  
  
"No... he's never told me anything like that. Neither of us has really talked about anything from the past..." Remus tried to stand up and was thankful for a helpful hand on his arm.  
  
"Come on then! You lot are finished – get out of here before I loose my patience with you!" Filch screamed at the entrance to the rooms they were in.  
  
James and Remus walked out of the room – past the large pile of cleaned pots. They stopped in mid step when they set eyes on Peter and Sirius. Peter was covered in some brown liquid.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?!" James quickly stepped forward looking at his small, plump friend.  
  
"Sirius dumped shit all over me." He shot Sirius a deadly glare as they began to walk up the stairs.  
  
"Well he was being mouthy." Sirius shot back at him.  
  
"So you had to dump shit on him? Jesus Sirius – what's wrong with just smacking him or something?" James stared at Sirius with his eyebrows furrowed in anger.  
  
"He called me a fairy."  
  
Remus rolled his eyes. "Sirius... grow up." He stared at him angrily as he stepped forward infront of everyone shaking his head.  
  
"What? He-"  
  
"I don't want to hear it!" Remus glanced to the side at Sirius. "Get used to it, Sirius."  
  
"Get used to what?"  
  
Once they reached the top of the stairs Remus whirled around. "Being gay! That isn't going to change Sirius. You can't just snap your fingers and make it go away. You are who you are!" Remus breathed angrily. "First you launch yourself at James for playing around and calling you a woman, now you dump shit all over Peter because he called you a fairy," Remus jabbed his finger into Sirius' chest as he spoke. "You haven't had to put up with it your whole life! You need to grow up and accept the fact that you're gay!" Remus shook his head and turned around.  
  
Sirius clenched his teeth and walked up beside Remus. He grabbed his upper arm in his hand and forced him to face him. What Sirius saw in his eyes caused him to let go immediately. Remus's eyes were the same bright yellow color they were when he transformed. His face was set in a scowl, and his lip was curled up in a sneer. Remus then softened his features a little as he stared at the look on Sirius' face. "What?"  
  
"Your... your eyes – they're yellow..." Sirius backed up a step.  
  
Remus shook his head. "Nonsense. My eyes are amber – you know that. They're not yellow unless I've trans-" Remus let the words trail off. He looked at Peter and James. "What color are my eyes!?"  
  
"Ye-yellow..." Peter stepped back slightly.  
  
"Yellow." James stood his ground and spoke quietly.  
  
Remus turned back to Sirius. He looked up into his azure eyes and felt his own start to mist over. His eyes couldn't be yellow... they just couldn't. The full moon wasn't close... Infact it had just passed. Remus's small form began to tremble as he watched Sirius' eyes. He closed his eyes let the tears pour past the barrier of his eyelids. He then felt a warmness come closer to him and envelop him. He fell into Sirius' arms and wept.  
  
"They can't be yellow... they can't be yellow," Remus let his hands entwine in Sirius' shirt as he cried. "They can't be yellow..."  
  
"Shh..." Sirius let his cheek rest on Remus's head as he gently swayed back and forth. He held Remus close and let his hands run up and down his back. "Shh..." Sirius felt the sobs start to subside – but in no means did they stop. "Remy..." Remus looked up at him slowly. Sirius smiled and wiped away a fresh tear on the left side of Remus' face, still holding his back. "My sweet Remy... it's okay..." Sirius spoke in a low whisper. He pulled Remus into his arms again. "Don't cry Remy."  
  
James and Peter stood silently witnessing Sirius comfort his mate. Neither of the boys thought it possible for Sirius to be so gentle and loving. They stood in awe as they watched Remus' tears subside. The boys exchanged glances. They both looked back at their friends.  
  
Remus looked up into Sirius' eyes.  
  
"No, Remy... they aren't yellow anymore." Sirius cupped Remus' cheeks with his large hands and leant forward. He was completely oblivious to his other friends when he kissed him. He spoke with his lips still close to Remus'. "You're okay now." He lent forward and kissed him again, feeling arms encircle his waist and hold him tightly.  
  
Remus ended the kiss, letting his head rest on Sirius' chest, he spoke softy into Sirius' shirt. "I'm so sorry for getting mad at you..."  
  
"I deserved it." Sirius stroked his boyfriend's hair tenderly. "Every word of it... I deserved it."

* * *

The detentions time had worn through – and the 2 weeks with Filch were over. Christmas was the following week. The teachers had loaded the homework on the 7th years – they were all expected to write at least a 12-inch essay for each of their classes, due the first day back.  
  
Sirius had been thinking about what Remus had said to him two weeks earlier. _'Being gay! That isn't going to change Sirius. You can't just snap your fingers and make it go away. You are who you are!'._ Sirius wasn't really sure that he was completely gay. He had still felt lust towards certain women – though nothing as strong as what he felt for Remus. Sirius greatly started to question his sexuality. He was lost in thought – and hadn't noticed that Remus had been calling his name.  
  
"Sirius!"  
  
"Huh? What?" He looked up at the voice and shook his head slightly.  
  
"Where have you been?" Remus smiled slightly as he sat down beside Sirius.  
  
"I've been here..."  
  
"I've been calling your name for the past minute. Only now did you notice me talking." Remus let his hand rest on Sirius' thigh.  
  
"Oh... sorry..." He smiled sheepishly and let his hand cover Remus'. He then had a quick flash of instead of Remus sitting beside him – it was a woman. He blinked his eyes and looked down at the hand he was holding. It was no longer feminine – but the hand that belonged to Remus. "Er... what's up?"  
  
"I'm going to Hogsmede today to shop for gifts. Do you want to come?"  
  
Sirius watched Madeline enter the room. He let his eyes linger on her for a second more before looking back at Remus. "No... I don't feel well."  
  
Remus narrowed his eyes as he stared at Sirius. "What's wrong with you?"  
  
"What do you mean? I just don't feel well."  
  
"No... not that. I'm getting a different feeling about you."  
  
"Nothing is wrong. I just feel kind of sick today. I'll go with you tomorrow though." Sirius smiled and leant over kissing Remus' cheek. "Go or you'll be late." He smiled again as Remus stood up. He still wasn't fully convinced.  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Oh come on. The faster you go, the faster you get your gifts, the faster you get here so I can love you, and hold you, and kiss you." He laughed as he stood up taking Remus' hand. "Go!"  
  
Remus smiled shyly and got up on his tiptoes kissing Sirius' nose. "Okay. I'll see you soon then. I love you." Remus wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck and put on his hat.  
  
"I love you too." Sirius smiled and watched his boyfriend disappear through the portrait.  
  
Sirius sat down on the couch again. Almost all of the Gryffindor's had gone to Hogsmede to shop for gifts. The only Gryffindor's left were the two in the room at that moment. Sirius brought his legs up and hugged them to his chest as he watched the fire.  
  
Madeline walked towards him and sat opposite to him on the couch. "Hi." She smiled gently and sat back, crossing her legs, hugging the pillow infront of her.  
  
"Hey. How're you?" Sirius smiled back at her.  
  
"Oh I'm fine! And yourself?" She smiled brushing her brown hair behind her ear. Her gray eyes twinkled as she spoke.  
  
"I'm alright. How come you haven't gone out like everyone else?" He noticed how her smile lit up her face.  
  
"I've already finished all my shopping. I did it last week. I wanted to make sure to get everything done before the rush."  
  
"Oh I see. Wise choice, Maddy."  
  
"Maddy?" Adorably so, she cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows, a small smile playing on her pink lips.  
  
"Well... Madeline is a little long... I ... I'm sorry for-"  
  
She laughed, causing Sirius' heart to flutter as the airy sound filled the room. "Nonsense! Maddy... I love it. I've never had a nickname before."  
  
"You're kidding?"  
  
"Nope... never... everyone has always called me Madeline. It gets boring sometimes you know." She stretched her legs out on the couch – her foot brushed past Sirius'. She let it rest there for a moment before she noticed that they were touching. "Oh... I'm sorry." She started to move her foot when she felt a warm hand on it.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Sit comfortably." Sirius smiled warmly at her.  
  
She smiled softly and let her foot stay where it was. She hadn't noticed that Sirius' hand had started to move up her leg. He was gently running his fingers over her anklebone absent-mindedly. She watched his fingers move along her ankle, caressing the bone. She felt a slight flush find her cheeks and looked down.  
  
Sirius stared into the fire, resting his cheek on his knee. He wasn't aware of what he was doing to her ankle. As far as he knew, he was touching his own foot. He looked up as he heard a slight gasp.  
  
"What?"  
  
Her gray eyes traveled from his face down his body to his hand. He took in a breath – realizing that he wasn't touching his own foot – and that he was in truth touching hers. He quickly jerked his hand away. "Sorry... I thought it was my foot."  
  
"No... it's alright. I don't mind..."  
  
Sirius smiled quickly before letting that hand rest on his knee. He blushed slightly as he looked back into the fire. The two teenagers sat in silence for a long time listening to the cracking of the fire before Sirius felt the weight on the other side of the couch shift. He looked up into gray eyes. Her knees were brushing against his feet. They both smiled at eachother. Sirius forgot who he was and let his hand find the side of her face. He ran his fingers along her cheek, finding her hair. He ran his fingers through her long, straight hair. She lent into his hand and placed her own delicate hand on his.  
  
The two locked eyes and both lent forward. Her lips were soft and warm. She ran her hand through his hair, finding the back of his neck. The kiss deepened, as did the need for contact. Sirius' hand found her half exposed thigh. He ran his hand along her silky thigh and slightly up her skirt. Her extra hand found his and guided it closer towards her body.  
  
Sirius' heart began to pound as he slowly moved to his knees, still kissing her. She easily changed her position and allowed Sirius to lay her down on the couch. Sirius gently laid his body over hers. She guided his hand from her waist to her breasts. She let him cup her breast with his strong hand. She then ran her fingers down his arm towards his back. She broke their kiss and began to kiss his neck as her fingers found his tie. She began to undo his tie – as he undid hers. The two looked at eachother and laughed nervously. They had then both successfully gotten each other's ties loose. Sirius took her tie off and began to unbutton her shirt. She had done the same, and was already running her fingers along the length of his well toned stomach  
  
Madeline adjusted her hips so that she could raise one of her legs. She tightened her leg around his hips, thrusting up gently. She felt a hardness between his legs. Sirius undid her shirt and timidly let his hand roam around her soft torso. He let his hand cup her breast as he kissed her neck. He heard her gasp into his ear as she put her hand to his. She guided his hand down her torso, lifting her hips to meet his as she guided her hand. She let him slip his hand up her skirt and find her underwear. Sirius slowly moved his fingers to find the waistband of her panties. He laid his lips to hers and kissed her, allowing her tongue to enter his mouth.  
  
Remus stood at the entrance of the common room witnessing what was happening on the couch. Remus' heart began to race as he stared at Sirius. His body went numb and he dropped the present he was holding for Sirius – causing it to shatter as soon as it hit the floor.  
  
Sirius and Madeline immediately looked towards the portrait. Sirius's eyes went wide as he recognized Remus. He took his hand out of her skirt. Remus' face constricted as he stared at his boyfriend. Sirius saw his eyes flash yellow as he turned and all but ran upstairs.  
  
Sirius quickly got to his knees and jumped off the couch – leaving Madeline lying half naked.  
  
"REMUS!" Sirius ran past the broken parcel – and up the stairs.  
  
He made it to the top of the stairs, he panted as he stared at Remus. He was standing with his back to the door, his hands balled into tight fists.  
  
"R...Remus?"  
  
Remus whirled around, his eyes were bright yellow, and blood was seeping from his hands. "GET THE FUCK OUT!"  
  
"No... No Remy you don't understand-" Sirius stepped forward as he spoke, holding his hands up.  
  
"Don't call me Remy." Remus's voice was low and he spoke through clenched teeth. "Get out of my sight NOW!"  
  
"No... I have to tell-"  
  
"How stupid do you think I am?!" Remus's eyes flashed yellow as he closed in on Sirius.  
  
"I don't think you're stupid..."  
  
"THAT WASN'T A QUESTION!" He roared at Sirius, causing Sirius to fall back into the wall with the amount of power that was thrown at him.  
  
"Remus... Remus I'm sorry..." Sirius felt tears start to find his eyes.  
  
"SORRY? You're SORRY?" Remus walked forward, exposing his hands. He hadn't noticed that his fingernails had grown longer. He grabbed Sirius' and dug his fingernails into his shoulders; in the same place he had when they were in the shower. Sirius felt a very large amount of energy closing in on him – causing him to gasp for air.  
  
James appeared at the doorway. "What's going-"  
  
Remus's head snapped towards the door and suddenly James felt himself being hurled towards the wall. Sirius heard James hit the wall with a loud bang – he thought that a few bricks had fallen out. The door slammed shut and locked.  
  
"What did you do to him?!"  
  
Sirius immediately knew that speaking was a mistake – as he felt the grip on his shoulder tighten and a hand come around his neck. He felt nails begin to dig into the side of his neck – directly above a pumping artery. "Am I not good enough for you that you had to run off and find the first slut you could? Did I not satisfy you?" Remus spoke in a low growl; he moved his mouth closer to Sirius' neck as he jerked it aside – revealing the pumping blood under his olive colored skin.  
  
"No... No..." Sirius gulped for air. "It's not like that – Oh God..." Sirius felt the grip on his shoulder and neck tighten. His hands flew up to Remus' hand. He felt tears flood out of his eyes. "Remus you're hurting me!" He gasped for air.  
  
Remus felt the tears of his own flood out of his eyes as he let go of Sirius' neck. "How could you? HOW COULD YOU? I-I loved you... God I loved you so much..." Remus backed away, his eyes still yellow, and his hands now covered in blood. He stared at Sirius with large yellow eyes – completely full of hurt, pain, and anger. Remus fell to the ground. "I wanted to spend my life with you... I wanted to be everything for you. Evidently a dick, love and company aren't all you need." Remus scoffed. "You need some loose floozy to fuck on the side to make the great Sirius Black a truly happy man."  
  
Sirius stood opposite to him holding his neck. "Remus..."  
  
"Go away." Remus spoke quietly, not able to bring himself to look at his mate. "Just... go."  
  
"No."  
  
Remus looked up at Sirius. His eyes were puffy, and tears streaked his fair cheeks. He spoke softly as he looked into the eyes of the person he still so desperately loved. "Please Siri... please," Fresh tears streaked his face. "Please leave." Remus looked back down at the ground and brought his knees to his chest, burying his face into his knees. He covered his head with his hands, his thin body shuttered violently as he wept silently.  
  
Sirius gazed down at his love, and tried to walk forward. Only to be stopped. He couldn't explain what he felt – but he felt as if his heart was going to break. He felt all the energy leave his body – happiness flash before his eyes and disappeared - he felt sorrow, isolation, and weakness flood over him. Sirius suddenly realized what it was like to be bonded to someone. He was experiencing Remus' feelings.  
  
'If you still love me... you'll leave...'  
  
Sirius heard a familiar voice in his mind. He recognized it as Remus'. Sirius closed his eyes and walked towards the door, obeying Remus's words. Tears fell to the ground as he paused at the door. He reached for the handle.  
  
"I was confused about my sexuality. I only did it because I wasn't fully sure if I was... who I was. I didn't do it because I didn't love you. Now I know for sure that you are all I ever want or need. You are the only thing that keeps me going. I've loved you since we first met... and I'll love you until the day that I die... my sweet Remy..." Sirius spoke quietly. He could still hear quiet sobbing behind him. "God I'm so sorry for hurting you..." Fresh tears slipped from his eyes as the door softly clicked shut behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

OKAY! I lied.. Yes... I know... It's a horrible thing to say. -grovels at your feet- I'm sorry!! I got up early - and I couldn't stop thinking about how much of a HORRIBLE cliff hanger that was. I hate it when stories end like that, and I can only imagine that you do too. I hate it when there isn't any closure - Tracey you know what I'm blabbering about!!!

I _SWEAR_ after this there won't be an update or about a week!! CROSS MY HEART, HOPE TO DIE!

* * *

"He'll be fine, Mrs. Potter – but we would like to keep him overnight."  
  
Mrs. Potter's grim face nodded as her solemn face slowly disappeared into the fire.  
  
James had been sent to the hospital wing with a concussion and a few broken ribs. He had been under close observation since Sirius had brought him there. Sirius sat at his side in the hospital – his head hanging in his hands.  
  
James woke with a start. His world was fuzzy. "Where am I?"  
  
Sirius looked up at him with puffy eyes. "You're in the hospital wing, James... relax. I'm here." Sirius offered him a smile.  
  
"Why... why am I here...?" James tried to sit up but winced when he felt pain pulse through his body. He lay back down and closed his eyes.  
  
"Re-" Sirius took in a sharp breath and looked down at his fingers. His eyes began to blur again. His eyebrows curled in pain. "Remus did something... I don't know how – but be sent you flying and you hit a brick wall." Sirius let his head rest in his hands. His voice was low and full of pain and regret. Sirius sniffed back what tears he could.  
  
"Remus? Wha..." James stopped and looked at his friend. They had known eachother for 7 years, and in all those years – he never looked as defeated as he did at that moment. "Sirius... what's wrong...?"  
  
Sirius didn't answer, but began to cry again. He let the tears flow – he didn't care anymore. James moved his hand and placed it on his knee. He lightly stroked his knee with his thumb – the most movement that he could muster.  
  
"I... Rem... We broke up..." He sniffed and wiped at his eyes. Sirius looked up and at the ceiling before looking down again. "He saw me with Madeline..."  
  
"Why is your shirt bloody then? He didn't-"  
  
"Claws... or something... he dug them into my back."  
  
"Why don't you get it looked at?"  
  
"Because now it's the only... the only thing I have to... remember him by." Sirius sat back and crossed his arms. His hair fell over his eyes. "It's pathetic, I know... but... Oh God..." Sirius sighed heavily. "God I would give anything to have him back..."  
  
"Sirius..."  
  
"I... I have to go." He took James' hand in his, and gently placed it back on his bed. "I'll be back soon, alright?" Sirius quickly turned around.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
He turned to face James – his eyes were wide and his hand was stretched out. "Yeah?"  
  
"Don't... don't hurt yourself... please. I couldn't stand it if you did." He felt tears welling in his eyes.  
  
Sirius smiled softly. "I won't. I'll always be here for you – as much as it pains me to say... I'll be here forever to bug you."  
  
James laughed softly. "Good. I wouldn't have it any other way. Please... be careful."  
  
Sirius smiled and nodded. "You go to sleep. I'll see you soon."  
  
"Yeah, alright."  
  
Sirius turned to walk down the corridor and from the corner of his eye he saw a splash of sandy-blonde hair. He stopped and turned in that direction. Remus sat in one of the hospital beds, his knees to his chest, his head bowed down – resting his forehead on his hands. Remus felt that Sirius was standing not 5 feet from him. He lifted his head and timidly looked up.  
  
Their eyes locked and something flashed in Remus' eyes. Sirius was taken aback by the amount of emotion that showed on his face. Sirius moved towards Remus slightly and felt what seemed to be a warm breeze. He closed his eyes briefly to bask in the warmth, and when he opened his eyes... Remus was gone. Sirius sighed and turned to walk down the corridor and leave the hospital.

* * *

Remus sat in the same place he had been for the past few hours. He kept seeing flashing pictures of Madeline and Sirius on the couch. He stared blankly at the ground, letting time slip by un-noticed, idly hoping that this was all a dream and that he would wake up any minute. He didn't look up when the door opened.  
  
Dumbledore stood at the doorway, squinting to see through the darkness. He then noticed a small figure sitting very closed up at the foot of the bed facing away from the door. He walked towards Remus slowly.  
  
"Go away."  
  
"I'm afraid dear boy, that I cannot oblige."  
  
Remus slowly blinked his eyes. "Please go away."  
  
Dumbledore knelt down and placed his hand to Remus' shoulder. He gasped when he felt the temperature rise from Remus' skin. "Remus..."  
  
Remus turned to face him. He blinked away tears. "Please... please just go away."  
  
Dumbledore smiled kindly and wrapped his long fingers around Remus' upper arm. He pulled him onto his feet. "No."  
  
Remus stood still and remembered when Sirius had said the same thing. He yanked his arm out of Dumbledore's grip and backed away slowly. Tears found his grief stricken eyes. Dumbledore merely walked forward and took Remus in his arms. He pat the boy's back quietly and smiled when Remus relaxed in his arms.  
  
Remus grabbed onto the front of Dumbledore's soft, intricate robes. "He went to someone else..."  
  
"I know, I know."  
  
"Was I not good enough for him?" Remus peered up into gentle blue eyes. His chest constricted with pain as he took in a breath.  
  
"I highly doubt that that was the case, Remus."  
  
"Then... then why did he... with her...?" He felt warmness radiate off of Dumbledore and fell into his arms again.  
  
"That I cannot answer Remus. You will have to answer that for yourself." He ran his hands along Remus' back, comforting him.  
  
"I... is the bond broken?"  
  
"Does it feel broken?"  
  
Remus' heart lifted for a moment. He thought he heard Sirius' laugh echo through his mind. "I don't know."  
  
Dumbledore held the boy at arms length and bent down slightly to look into his eyes. "Dear boy, the love you hold for him still is strong. I can feel it radiating off of you."  
  
"I don't want to love him anymore..." Remus shook his head and started to cry again – his breath hitching in his throat. "It hurts to much to love him."  
  
Dumbledore felt a whoosh of warm air come towards him. "Go to him."  
  
"I... I can't. I won't."  
  
"You must, Remus."  
  
"No. I won't... I can't look at him."  
  
"Remus listen to me. You must go to him. If you do not – I fear what may happen to both of you." Dumbledore looked at Remus over his half moon glasses.  
  
"I-"  
  
At that moment, Sirius came through the door. Remus' heart skipped a beat when he saw Sirius' face. He then remembered what had happened – and his heart felt as if it sank to his feet. Dumbledore turned and nodded at Sirius, slowly passing by the door.  
  
_'Do not hurt him anymore. He does not deserve to hurt.'_  
  
Sirius felt words echo through his mind as Dumbledore passed. Sirius nodded in acknowledgement. Sirius turned to look at Remus. His heart broke at the sight. His beautiful porcelain skin was blotchy, his hair messy. His amber eyes looked dull and lifeless. His hands fell limp at his sides. Sirius wanted so badly to run to him, hold his body in his arms, and tell him everything was all right – but he knew he couldn't.  
  
"Hi..."  
  
"Hi." Remus ran a hand through his hair and looked to the ground. He twined his fingers together at his waist. He vaguely noticed the dull pain throbbing in his palms. The cuts he had left earlier were deep.  
  
Sirius shut the door quietly and stood just a foot from the door. "I..."  
  
Remus looked up at him with sad eyes. His hair fell limply around his face. "Yes?"  
  
"I'm... I'm sorry."  
  
Remus nodded slowly and jerked his head to the side. He sat down on the bed closest to him. When he had realized it was Sirius', he abruptly stood.  
  
"Will you... can I explain?"  
  
"There isn't much else to do, is there?" His voice was mocking and cruel.  
  
Sirius decided that he didn't deserve to hear Remus' voice in any other way. So he continued. "I only did it because I was confused."  
  
"About what." Remus spoke. It wasn't exactly question; it seemed more like a statement.  
  
"About my sexuality... I didn't know if-"  
  
"If you were really gay? Shouldn't being with me have been enough to... to what... to convince you?" Remus stepped forward slightly. He took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down.  
  
"It should have been." Sirius stepped forward slightly, then stepped back again – feeling the pressure around him surround his body. The same pressure he felt at lunch when he and James' had fought. That's what it was – it was Remus. "I just... I didn't know. I had to reassure myself."  
  
"You shouldn't have to reassure yourself." Remus spoke softly and sat down on the bed. He was now almost grateful when he touched the bed. He so wanted to run into Sirius' arms and touch him. "You shouldn't have to reassure yourself."  
  
"I know... I just... I.... God Remus... I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."  
  
"Why, of all people - did you pick her?"  
  
"Because she was there."  
  
Remus looked up at him and slightly narrowed his eyes. "Because she was there...?"  
  
"Yes." Sirius ran his hands through his hair. "I only did it because she was the only female left when you all went shopping. I didn't pick her because I felt something for her... I picked her because she was a skirt."  
  
"That's a horrible thing to say about someone."  
  
"Well I'm not going to lie to you – it was the truth." He took a step forward – ignoring the growing pressure around him. 'You aren't going to keep me away from you. I won't let you...'.  
  
"Why didn't you just tell me that you were unsure of your sexuality?"  
  
"Because I though you would take it badly."  
  
"Well you obviously thought wrong. That you didn't tell me that and you deciding to chase the first skirt you could instead... That is what hurts." Remus looked down into his hands and traced the scar beside his thumb on his palm – the same one that Sirius had stroked the first time they had kissed. He smiled silently at the memory before looking up again.  
  
Sirius stepped closer to Remus – now only 5 feet away. The pressure on him was growing – but he threw it aside. "Remus... I'm sorry for what I've done. I'm sorry for being an inconsiderate asshole."  
  
Remus' eyes went wide as Sirius knelt down beside him. _'How is he... How did he get this far...?' _Remus shifted slightly as Sirius reached out and took his hand. His thumb roamed absent-mindedly over the scar. Remus felt warmth fill his body. He looked down into tearful azure eyes.  
  
Sirius spoke softly, but certainly. "You're everything to me. I need you to keep on going. I need to feel you beside me to be happy." Sirius looked down at Remus' hand. "I can't change the past... I can't change what I've done, and I know that." He looked up again into brilliant amber eyes. He was glad that Remus hadn't yanked his hand back. "I've torn myself apart a thousand times, I've cried more now than I ever have in my life. I didn't think I was capable of loving someone as much as I still love you. Remus... the reason I was born was so that I could love you – I'm sure of it."  
  
Remus looked deep into his eyes. He knew Sirius was telling the truth. He flinched slightly as more tears fell down his cheeks. "I... I don't... I don't know if I can trust you."  
  
"I'm not asking for your trust. I'm asking simply for your forgiveness - I can't live knowing you hate me." Sirius whispered slowly as he looked down at their joined hands.  
  
"I don't hate you." Remus spoke softly and twitched his hand in Sirius' grip. He let his other hand travel slowly and timidly to Sirius' cheek, bringing up his face to look at him. "I don't hate you." Sirius' eyes were filled with tears. Remus couldn't hold his face so straight, and smiled softly and genuinely.  
  
Remus slid off the bed and kneeled infront of Sirius. Remus took Sirius' hands in his, and held them close to his chest. "I know that I shouldn't... But... I do forgive you." Sirius looked up. He didn't smile, he didn't move. He simply stared into Remus' eyes. "I can't just stop loving you, and I can't just forget what you've done," He bowed his head slightly, resting it on Sirius' forehead. "But... I..." He broke out into tears again. "I can't live without you." His tears fell onto their joined hands.  
  
"Remy..." Sirius slowly moved to wrap his arms around Remus' shoulders. When he felt no resistance – he held him close and tight to his chest. "I don't want you to hurt anymore."  
  
Remus' will broke and he let out a long breath as he cried. He knew that he shouldn't forgive Sirius. He knew that he shouldn't even rightfully be talking to him. But a part of him wanted this closeness. That part of him needed the closeness. Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck and smiled into his hair. "_Damn you_, Sirius Black... _Damn you_ to hell."  
  
Sirius smiled slightly and ran his hand through Remus' hair. He had only been away from Remus for a little over 6 hours – but he felt as if he hadn't seen him for a lifetime. He breathed deeply and basked in the now apparent warmth surrounding the two of them. He felt Remus' heart beating slowly against his chest. He heard Remus' slow; steady breaths flow in and out of his thin body. Sirius buried his head in the crook of Remus' neck and took in his scent. He loved this boy with everything he was and everything he never would be.  
  
Remus pulled back and let his hands find Sirius' shirt collar. He ran his fingers underneath it and found the place he had dug his nails into. Sirius felt warmth fill that place – and unmistakably felt the skin mend until all that was left, were 4 small scars. Remus then smiled and ran his hands along Sirius' neck gently. Sirius felt the same warmness and the bruises on his neck slowly disappeared.  
  
"How did you do that?"  
  
Remus smiled. "I don't know. All that I know is that I can." He placed his hand to Sirius' cheek. He looked into his eyes. "Don't you _ever_ touch another woman again like that, or I'll have your hide." His tone was serious, as was his face.  
  
Sirius nodded and rested his hand on Remus'. "I won't ever touch anyone like that again – unless it's you."  
  
Remus smiled and lent forward. When their lips touched –both boys felt their worlds fill with happiness again. He kissed Sirius very gently and let his other hand grab his other cheek. He ended the kiss and stood up, bringing Sirius with him. Sirius heard the door lock behind him as Remus pulled him onto Sirius' bed. Remus' heart felt as if it was to explode when he felt Sirius' familiar weight on top of him. He ran his fingers through Sirius' long, silky hair and smiled in spite of himself.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just you... I can't stay mad at you." He kissed his neck and smiled. "I don't think I have it in me."  
  
Sirius recognized the words and smiled slightly, leaning down to kiss Remus again.  
  
Sirius woke the next morning, with Remus' naked back against his stomach. He smiled and pulled Remus closer to himself. He molded his body against Remus' and kissed the back of his neck. He then slowly drifted off to sleep again when he felt Remus' body shift back into his, letting their naked flesh touch completely from top to bottom. Remus tightened his grip on Sirius' hand and smiled into the pillow as he fell asleep. 


	14. Chapter 14

The morning sunlight filtered through the dorm window, and fell across Remus' sleeping face. Remus jerked awake and squinted when the light found his open eyes. He growled slightly as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Last night was a blur and he didn't remember any of it. Remus began to stretch and he felt someone beside him. His breath caught in his throat as he looked over at the figure sleeping peacefully at his side. Remus made a worried noise as he bit his lip and swung his legs over the side of the bed. What happened last night? What did he do...?  
  
"Mmm..." Sirius stirred slightly as his and roamed around the other side of the mattress until it found Remus' hip.  
  
Remus took a deep breath and felt tears fall from his eyes. He stood up quickly and turned to face a now awake Sirius. "Why... why am I in your bed...?"  
  
Sirius furrowed his eyebrows for a second, and then smiled. "We made up last night."  
  
Remus shook his head and crossed his arms. "I don't remember making up with you, Sirius."  
  
"...What do you mean?"  
  
"Exactly that." Remus wiped his eyes and began looking for his clothing. A few seconds had passed and it felt like an eternity. Remus had entered a state of frantic search. _"Where are they?!"_  
  
"Remus... why can't you remember?" Sirius sat up, the blankets falling off of him as he moved.  
  
"I don't... _WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY CLOTHES SIRIUS?!"_ He rounded on Sirius, his eyes again turning a yellowish tinge.  
  
"I don't know!" Sirius, who had by this time stood, backed up a few steps. "I... over there?" He pointed to the other side of the bed.  
  
Remus walked briskly to the other side of the bed and his eyes changed to amber again as he slipped on his boxers. He dressed quickly and made for the door.  
  
"Remus!"  
  
"What?" He turned to face Sirius, one hand hanging loosely at his side, the other holding the doorknob.  
  
"You don't remember anything from last night? Nothing that I've said?"  
  
"No." Remus paused for a moment and brought the loose hand up to hug his ribcage. "No I don't remember anything but you and Madeline on the cou-" He stopped for a moment, and then closed a small distance between himself and Sirius. "Where's James?!"  
  
"In the hospital wing."  
  
"Oh god..." Remus turned and ran towards the door, skipping down past the stairs and leaving Sirius standing alone in complete shock.  
  
Remus had made it to the common room when Lily stopped him.  
  
"REMUS!"  
  
"... WHAT?!" He screamed back at the voice as he turned, seconds away from opening the portrait.  
  
"You sent my boyfriend to the hospital. Why?" Lily crossed her arms and sneered.  
  
"Because he came into the dorm at the wrong time. I can't talk about this now." Remus turned to leave and slipped out of the portrait before Lily had the time to retaliate.  
  
Remus broke into a run as soon as he made it out of the dorm. He ran as quickly as he could until he reached the hospital room. When he burst through the doors, he ran towards Madam Pomfrey and grasped her shoulders. "Where is he!"  
  
"Who? Where is who?"  
  
Remus dropped his hands and took a deep breath. "James... where is he?"  
  
She barley had time to point in the direction he was in before Remus had broken into a run to find him. Once he had reached the place that James was recovering, Remus stopped, more tears filled his amber eyes.  
  
"James..."  
  
James looked up from his schoolbook, no visible emotion on his face. "Yes?"  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"...Not really, no." James sighed as he looked back down at his schoolbook. "What do you want?"  
  
"I want to tell you that I'm sorry for what I've done to you." Remus walked towards him and fell to his knees beside the bed, holding back tears. "I feel horrible..."  
  
"Why did you do it?" James asked as he closed his book, staring hard into Remus' eyes.  
  
"Because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would have done it to anyone, James... I'm so sorry that it had to be you." Remus bowed his head and looked down at the mattress.  
  
James watched as crystal clear tears fell from his eyes and soaked into the blankets. He couldn't ever remember seeing Remus cry. Sure he had heard him cry, but never really seen it. He looked back at his own folded hands and spoke softly. "Have you seen Sirius yet?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And I can't remember anything but seeing him with Madeline and waking up naked next to him." Remus ran his fingers through his hair and looked up at James. "Then I remembered what I had done to you, and ran here to see you."  
  
"...Oh."  
  
Remus looked into James' eyes and felt more tears fall from his eyes. "I need to know that you'll be alright."  
  
"I'll be fine, Remus. You don't have to worry about my well being." James stopped and smiled slightly. "What you need to worry about is yourself."  
  
Remus took in a deep breath and sighed as he shifted his weight from one knee to the other. "I want this day to end."  
  
"Aw Remy..." James lent forward and took the shaking boy in his arms. "Don't cry."  
  
Remus sniffed and let out a shaking breath as he felt James' arms encircle around his shoulders. His voice was hoarse and low. "I don't want to cry... but I can't seem to stop the tears..."  
  
"I'm not mad at you, Remy... if that's what you're crying about?"  
  
"No..."  
  
"Then what?" James held him back and looked into his eyes.  
  
Remus thought for a moment, and blinked away more tears before he spoke. "I feel like I'm broken."  
  
"You're not broken," James offered his friend a smile and pat the bed beside him. Remus shifted from the floor to the bed and lay down next to his friend, feeling tears fall from his eyes again as he held James close and rested his head on James' chest. "You've just lost yourself for a while."  
  
"Lost?"  
  
"Mm..." James smiled as he held his crying friend close. "You'll find yourself with time, Remy. Just don't block out anyone who tries to help you."  
  
Remus nodded into James' chest and cried harder as he pulled James closer, trying to become warm. "I loved him so much..."  
  
James nodded and lightly ran his hand through Remus' hair, feeling the pain radiating from his friend. He nearly felt tears come to his own eyes at this feeling. James wrapped his free arm around Remus' torso and tried as best he could in his condition to cradle his friend and try to calm him down. "Shh... It'll be okay soon."  
  
"How do you know...?"  
  
"I know because you and Sirius love eachother far to strongly to let it not be okay." James stated simply as he smiled into Remus' hair. "He may have screwed up royally this time... but it can't be without reason."  
  
"...I know. I just wish that I could remember what happened." Remus sighed deeply as he let his hold on James loosen until he was just resting his arm over James' torso.  
  
"It'll come back to you with time." Dumbledore smiled as he walked out from behind the curtain.  
  
Remus immediately sat up and scrambled out of the bed in shock. "D- Dumbledore..."  
  
"Oh it's alright, Remus." He smiled softly and came towards Remus slowly.  
  
"Why can't I remember last night?" Remus asked softly as he wiped a few remaining tears away from his face.  
  
"Oh well I expect that it was because of the sheer amount of emotion you experienced."  
  
"Then why did you come talk to me last night if you knew it would only disappear from my memory?"  
  
"Ahh... you see? It's already coming back to you." Dumbledore smiled. "I came to you because it was the right thing to do. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have spoken with Sirius as I told you to."  
  
"When will I remember everything?"  
  
"You'll remember everything in little bouts when the situation you are in allows it. You must feel safe in order for this to happen." Dumbledore smiled and turned to leave. "Oh... Remus, please come see me as soon as you are available?"  
  
"...Yes Sir." Remus looked down and cleared his throat. "What about if I may ask?"  
  
As soon as Remus looked up, Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"He disappears quickly doesn-" James stopped as his eyes took in the figure that had appeared infront of him. "Hey Sirius..."  
  
Sirius offered a small smile and looked down. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm alight." James smiled back, and looked at Remus. Remus was chewing on his lip – something of a regular habit that he had developed over the last year of school. IT only worked to make him desirable – even to James, who was straight.  
  
"Can I talk to you Remus?"  
  
Remus looked up into Sirius' blue eyes and nodded stiffly. Sirius smiled slightly and began to walk towards Remus, who, at that movement, backed away slightly as he looked into his eyes. Remus reminded Sirius of a wounded, untrusting animal. He died inside, knowing that he was the cause of that.  
  
Sirius stopped and began to walk in the opposite direction. Remus obediently began to follow him, always a few steps behind. Sirius led them to a secluded area of the school, near a large Christmas tree. He sat down on a bench beside the tree, and motioned for Remus to sit beside him. Remus did as he was told, though not sure why he was listening.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Remus let out a breath and looked into Sirius' eyes. "I still can't remember last night."  
  
"I know... I just... I need to tell you what I told you last night." Sirius spoke softly as he reached for Remus' hand. "May I please... hol-"  
  
Remus placed his hand in Sirius'. "Yes." He smiled inwardly at the warm touch, not showing his happiness on the outside.  
  
Sirius held his hand tightly, running his thumb over the scar on his hand. Remus suddenly Sirius kneeling infront of him, stroking the scar as he was now. Remus furrowed his eyebrows, shaking the memory away, and listened to Sirius when he spoke.  
  
"There's so many things that I need to tell you..." He paused slightly, looking up into Remus' eyes. "The reason I was with her was because I was unsure of myself. I didn't know if I was..."  
  
"Was what?"  
  
"Gay." Sirius finished, taking in a low breath. "I know that it was wrong to test myself with someone who just happened to be there at that moment. I regret it Remus... I do. I can't believe that I would be so stupid as to even want to betray your love just to find something out for myself."  
  
"Why did you decide to... with Madeline?" Remus said quietly, absentmindedly allowing his hand to cover Sirius'.  
  
"Because she was there... she was a skirt."  
  
"Sirius... that's a horrible thing to say about someone." Remus suddenly realized how familiar this conversation was.  
  
"I know. But it's the truth, Remus."  
  
"It may be the truth... but..." Remus heard a voice in his head. He whispered it out loud as he looked into Sirius' eyes. "I've torn myself apart a thousand times, I've cried more now than I ever have in my life. I didn't think I was capable of loving someone as much as I still love you. Remus... the reason I was born was so that I could love you – I'm sure of it..."  
  
"You remembered...?"  
  
Remus threw that question aside and straddled the bench, looking into Sirius' eyes. "Did you mean that? When you said it... did you mean it?"  
  
"Of course I did."  
  
Remus held tightly onto Sirius' hand as he lent forward slightly, kissing Sirius' lips. Remus opened his lips slightly as he kissed his former lover. He ran his tongue over Sirius' lip before nudging it into his mouth. He let go of Sirius' hands and scooted closer to Sirius, nearly sitting on his lap. Wrapping his arms around Sirius' neck, Remus deepened the kiss. Sirius's arms came around Remus' slender torso and pulled him close. Remus ran his hands through Sirius' long hair and ended the kiss. He opened his eyes slowly and looked over Sirius' face.  
  
Remus let his hand fall from Sirius' hair and to his cheek. He tenderly stroked his thumb over Sirius' cheekbone. Placing a gentle kiss to Sirius' forehead Remus allowed his lips to linger for a moment before he stood. Then lifting his leg over the bench he slowly began to walk away.  
  
Remus made his way towards Dumbledore's office, and as he walked up to the gargoyle, he smiled. He watched as the gargoyle sprang alive after he had muttered the password. Remus walked slowly up the stairs and stopped at the entrance to Dumbledore's office.  
  
"Ahh... Come in, Remus."  
  
Remus nodded and entered the room, his hands clasped behind his back.  
  
"Take a seat." Dumbledore motioned to the chairs infront of his desk.  
  
Remus nodded again sitting down softly in the seat. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"  
  
"Right down to business then?" Dumbledore chuckled slightly as he sat down. Folding his hands infront of himself on the desk, Dumbledore looked at Remus over his half moon glasses. "What I wanted to talk to you about... was the fact that you nearly transformed last night into a werewolf while you were alone with Sirius."  
  
"How did you know...?" Remus was completely surprised; he didn't know how Dumbledore could have known.  
  
"James mumbled something about it, and I just put two and two together." Dumbledore's expression changed drastically from light to serious. "The fact that you are able to do such a thing is most rare, and most dangerous."  
  
"I... It's been happening ever since Sirius and I... when we..." Remus cleared his throat and looked down at his hands. "Completed the bond."  
  
"Ahh yes... that would explain it. Tell me what you've been experiencing then in regards to these changes?"  
  
Remus readjusted his position on the chair, and began slowly. "I've been told that my eye color changes, into that of yellow – the color they are when I am the werewolf." Dumbledore nodded. "Also, I've noticed that I am able to put up a barrier, or at least something to that effect. Meaning that I am usually able to keep only Sirius away from me when I want it... I expect that is because of the bond we now share." Dumbledore nodded again, not interrupting him. "And... I can heal his wounds."  
  
"... Heal him?"  
  
"Yes. Without a wand." Remus smiled slightly.  
  
"Interesting..." Dumbledore shifted his position and reached for an old book. "Very interesting. And did you grow claws as well?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Hmm..." Dumbledore turned to look at the book; skimming a few pages he nodded his head. "It seems, that since you are a rare breed of werewolf, that you haven't quite gained complete control of the wolf side of yourself. It's like a constant subconscious battle between you and him."  
  
"What does that mean...?"  
  
"It means that you and the wolf are completely dissimilar. Your anger is driven by the wolf – and because of what happened between Sirius and yourself the other night, the wolf took his chance to become more prominent and cause you to act out the way you did. You did not have any control over what was said nor done last night. This more than anything may had led to your memory loss." Dumbledore paused slightly, then continued. "If you do not learn how to control the wolf at all times... the safety of yourself and all those around you is jeopardized."  
  
Remus nodded slowly. "How can I learn how to do that?"  
  
"Practice, and determination."  
  
"There's no potion or spell that can help me?"  
  
"I'm afraid not." Dumbledore closed the book infront of himself and handed it to Remus. "Read through this. It may help you."  
  
Remus reached for the book as he stood. "Thank-you." He was about to turn and leave when he stopped himself. "When I healed Sirius... was that-"  
  
"Wandless magic? Yes, it was. Only a few highly gifted wizards are able to wield such a power without the use of a wand."  
  
"Is it because I'm a werewolf...?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled kindly and shook his head. "No, it has nothing to do with that. That power is your own, and has been your own since you were a child. You just have not realized that you are able to do so until now."  
  
"Oh... I see." Remus smiled quickly and turned to leave. "Thank-you for the book..."  
  
"My pleasure." Dumbledore watched as Remus' figure descended the stairs.  
  
"He is the first wizard in many years who can perform wandless magic, Albus." One of the past headmistresses spoke up, but only when she heard the gargoyle shut. "Keep a close eye on him."  
  
Dumbledore nodded and walked towards Fawkes. Stroking the noble bird's head gently, he spoke softly. "The magic that pulses through his veins is strong..." Fawkes chirped lightly, leaning into Dumbledore's hand. "Something lays in store for this boy... but what, I am afraid I do not know..."

* * *

**REVEIWS PLEASE!!**  
  
How's that for a return chapter? Bet it took a few of you off guard eh? GOOD STUFF!!  
  
Yes... so... let me know what you thought of the chappie – and as always, give me ideas for further chapters! I am always open to suggestions. (smiles)  
  
And, thank-you again to all the reviewers for their lovely comments, thanks for sticking this mini break out! (smiles and hands you all cookies) 


	15. Chapter 15

Taking a deep breath, Remus dipped his quill into the thick black ink pooled in the small glass jar infront of him. He looked down at the parchment infront of him and began to write.

All the while, Remus didn't really know why he was writing this letter. He was deeply confused about his still lingering feelings for Sirius, but when he had kissed Sirius beside the tree he knew something had not changed. Something through everything that had happened had remained constant. Remus vaguely convinced himself that it was only the bond that remained constant as he listened to the scratching of his quill against the parchment. Everything he had been thinking was poured into this single letter. Remus smiled slightly as he scratched his former lover's name, putting the greatest of care into the curve of the S's in his name.

Remus stopped briefly to look around the quiet library, and dipped his quill back into the ink, preparing to write more. His sandy-blonde hair fell over his eyes, shading him from the world around him. He heard nothing but the words running from his mind, through his body and out the tip of the quill, scratched ever so gently into the parchment.

"Remus?"

He glanced up to see a woman standing infront of him with long, waving red hair. "Yes?"

"Why did you do that to James?" Lily spoke softly, as she twirled the ring on her finger.

"I... I..." Remus fumbled to find the words to explain why he had done it, and when none came to him, he answered simply. "I don't know."

Lily nodded slightly and crinkled her nose as she furrowed her eyebrows. "You can't just not know Remus."

"It's the truth Lily. I suppose I did it because he came in at the wrong time and I didn't want to be interrupted." Remus watched as Lily sat down across from him, lightly folding his her hands together.

"I was so scared when I saw him laying there..." She sniffed softly.

Remus smiled timidly. "He's alright now though."

"I know... but God Remus... it frightened me so much to see him laying motionless on the ground... I thought he was dead."

"I'm sorry Lily..." Remus paused and pulled a book over the letter to his side. He reached for her hands and held them in his. "I'm so sorry."

Lily raised her eyebrows slightly and looked away from Remus's eyes. Her voice was low and soft as she looked back at Remus. Her green eyes flashed suddenly as she spoke. "I heard about what Sirius did to you."

Remus took in a sharp breath and sucked his bottom lip in nodding his head. "I see."

Lily brought Remus' hands to her lips, and kissed his knuckles gently. "No matter who the person is, no matter what they may, or may not have done... you never betray true love the way he has." Lily smiled as a few tears fell down her cheeks. Locking her eyes with Remus, she spoke quietly. "No one ever deserves the pain you feel right now."

Remus opened his mouth slightly to take in a breath; he nodded slowly and felt tears fall down his cheeks. His eyes fluttered as they closed, never really staying shut - never really staying open. His eyebrows furrowed as he bit his lip, trying to stop the tears. Lily stood up quickly and walked over to Remus. Sitting in the chair next to him, she lightly brushed the hair away from his eyes.

Lily wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and lent her head against Remus'. She spoke softly into his ear, her breath warming his chilled skin. "I love you, Remy. I love you so much, and it hurts me so deeply to see you in such undeserved pain." She smiled warmly as Remus turned to face her. She cupped his cheek in her hand and rubbed away a tear with her thumb. She lent forward and placed a gentle kiss to his forehead before taking him in her arms.

Remus wrapped his arms around her body and held her close. Times like these, Remus felt so completely surrounded with love. With every caress, and smile he received from his friends, the more he treasured his life. Remus still didn't understand why his friends stayed beside him, nor why they even cared for him. Was it because they loved him? Pitied him? Or did they do it simply because they felt they were doing the world justice to be friends with a werewolf? It didn't matter now, all that mattered was the fact that Lily was holding him and comforting him in his time of complete need.

"I hate it when you cry." She whispered into his ear, softly stroking his hair. "I hate Sirius because of what he's done."

Remus lent back and looked into her eyes. "You can't hate him."

"...Why?"

Remus felt his heart clench tightly in his chest as he whispered out the next few words with great difficulty. "Because... because I still love him." He looked down and cursed. "God help me I still love him even after what he's done..."

That is what had remained constant - his love for Sirius had never swayed.

* * *

Sirius stumbled up the stairs towards the dorm, he was nearly asleep as he walked towards his bed, but something caught his eye. A small envelope sat on his night table, his name scrawled across the front of it. He recognized it as Remus' writing. 

He furrowed his eyebrows and glanced over at Remus, his sleeping form took in an even breath. Sirius sat down quietly and looked around the dorm. One empty bed - James was still in the hospital. Sighing slightly Sirius opened the envelope, squinting to read the small, delicate writing enclosed.

He positioned himself so that the moonlight was shining on the yellowish paper igniting the words it contained.

_'Sirius, _

_When you found that I was a werewolf, did it scare you? Did you assume to think that our relationship would ever come this far? Surely being mere friends with a werewolf must have scared you to some extent, as it still scares me to be one. _

_The years have come and gone... and we have grown into young adults. You've always been my backbone - even when you didn't realize it. There has been too many times in which I have relied on you solely for support, love or friendship, and strength. Each time I felt myself weaken, you would always be there to offer me a smile and help me to my feet... until now, when I need it the most. _

_When I realized that I had fallen in love with you, I knew that it was too late to do anything about it. You would never return my affections; you would never kiss me the way I so longed to kiss you. I grew to live with the fantasy of feeling your skin brush against me, the fantasy of feeling your lips on mine... until the day I helped you cheat on your test. Do you remember that day? Something in the way you looked at me, the way you acted around me, and the way you spoke to me changed. My heart nearly burst when you finally granted me my only wish. It was a selfish wish, I'll admit... but then again, isn't that what wishes are? I wished for so long, on every shooting star, that you would tell me that you loved me, and really mean it. Then one day - it actually came true. _

_I trusted you with my life, I trusted you with my deepest secret. I shared my first kiss with you; I gave you my virginity. At one point, nothing but you seemed to matter. As long as you were happy, I was happy. I was completely shrouded in my love for you. _

_And as I sit here writing you this letter - the final destination I am still not yet sure of, I find myself crying. I feel tears fall from my eyes and become absorbed into this parchment as I expose my soul to you. You're the only one who has ever known the real me, the only one who will ever know the real me. _

_Without a doubt, I know that you will be the only one I will ever love. Though still, I cannot bring myself to trust you as I once did nor act around you as I used to. The nights are long without you; the days are even longer. _

_They say time heals all wounds. They also say the ones you love never really leave you, and that you can always find them in your heart. _

_I forgive you for your actions, Sirius... I forgive you a thousand times. But no matter how much or how hard I try... I cannot stop the hurt I feel inside, nor can I stop the tears from flowing. _

_My love for you runs deep, entwined into the jagged parts of my broken soul. Your kisses; burned into me forever... a constant reminder of you. I do not regret loving you. I do not regret making love to you. _

_I do not regret anything but my lost ability to convince you that all you needed... was me. _

_Remus'_

Sirius set the letter down gently as a tear rolled down his cheek. He looked over at Remus' form, his breathing had quickened, and from what he could tell - Remus was laying awake.

Remus was indeed awake; he had awoken when he heard Sirius open the letter. Remus held his breath as he heard Sirius stand and walk over to his bed. He rolled onto his back, and blinked as Sirius sat down on the side of the bed.

"This letter..." Sirius looked back down at the folded parchment. "Your words are so beautiful."

Remus did not smile at the compliment; he only let his gaze shift from Sirius to the canopy above him. He gulped hard, holding back tears.

"Remus...?"

"...Yes?"

Sirius shifted slightly as he wiped his eyes. "I..." he stopped again. "Thank-you for loving me."

"Loving is past tense," Remus replied quietly as he sat up, brining his knees to his chest. Remus motioned slightly with his head towards the parchment that Sirius held. "No where in that letter does it say that I ever stopped loving you."

"I can't help but feel that I've lost you," Sirius's breath hitched. "Completely lost you."

"Do you not ever take in what you read, Siri?" Remus smiled, and spoke in his usual soft tone as he reached forward, running his hand through Sirius' hair. "Time heals all wounds."

Sirius leaned into the touch and dropped the letter, placing his hand to Remus', holding it to the side of his face. "I'm so sorry..."

"Stop apologizing, Siri." Remus smiled and moved over, patting the bed beside him as he threw back the covers. "I know you're sorry."

Sirius shifted his position and lay down beside Remus under the covers, resting his head on Remus' shoulder. He felt Remus' hands run through his hair and his other arm pull him close. Sirius wrapped his arm around Remus' waist, entwining his legs with his mate's. He lay nearly on top of the werewolf, feeling that this still wasn't close enough.

"How can you forgive what I've done to you...?"

Remus smiled into Sirius hair, and placed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Because I love you. You forgive those whom you love." "But-"

"Sirius..." Sirius looked up at Remus. Remus' amber eyes twinkled as he smiled down at him. "...Stop beating yourself up over the past." He kissed Sirius' forehead.

Sirius lent up and gently kissed Remus' lips. "Will you be mine again...?"

Remus kissed his lips again, slowly, and gently. "Not yet."

Sirius merely nodded and returned to his prior position, with his head resting against Remus' shoulder. Sirius was about to drift into sleep when he heard Remus begin to speak quietly into his hair.

"There has been so many times in the last few hours, I thought of completely forgetting you; thinking that it would be easy to move on. Then I would think... it's Sirius... you can't just forget your soulmate. And at first... I wanted so badly to die and have all this pain go away..." He smiled silently and ran his fingers through Sirius' hair softly, calming himself more than anything. "But then... I discovered that I would rather fix things, and work on falling love with you all over again, than just give up."

Sirius sleepily propped himself on his elbow, and looked into Remus' eyes as he hovered slightly over him. "I'm glad you decided against forgetting me."

Remus smiled stupidly, sighing as he ran his hands along Sirius' naked back. "You want to know what made me decide not to?"

"...Sure?"

Remus laughed. "Your amazing body... I couldn't stop thinking about it pressed up against mine."

Sirius laughed for the first time in a while. It was then that Sirius lent down and kissed Remus the same way he had first kissed him, tender, slow, and completely full of love.


	16. Chapter 16

"So... I'm off tonight to go home." James sighed as he picked at his breakfast.  
  
"It won't be _that_ bad, Jamie." Remus offered, smiling softly as he sipped his juice.  
  
"Are you kidding me?! My mother is going to fawn over me like no one's business..." James threw his fork down and crossed his arms, resting his elbows on the table. "I hate how she treats me like a child."  
  
"Yeah, well that's just because she loves you Prongs." Sirius speared a piece of bacon with his fork, and when it snapped in half he picked it up with his fingers and pointed it at James. "At least your family cares."  
  
James took initiative and stole the piece of bacon from Sirius' fingers, popping it into his mouth. "I'd rather they didn't."  
  
Remus rolled his eyes and set down his glass of juice. "Just suck it up, let her fawn, and when you come back everything will be fine again and you can strut your manhood all over the place."  
  
James laughed. "Strut my manhood?"  
  
"Sounds like a porn flick, if you ask me." Sirius smiled as he stole a quick glance at Remus.  
  
"Well no one asked you, did they?" Remus smirked, staring at Sirius.  
  
"Mwrawrr... feisty today aren't we, Remy?" Sirius winked at him and puckered his lips slightly.  
  
Remus raised one of his eyebrows. "Suddenly I'm not going to miss you when you go home."  
  
_"Oooh snap!"_ James screeched as he laughed.  
  
"...Snap?" Remus stared at James from the corner of his eyes, his eyebrows raised as a small smile played on his lips.  
  
"...Yeah... like... "Good burn"...? Only you say 'snap' instead..."  
  
Smirking, Sirius lent forward and looked at James with his right eye narrowed slightly, his left eyebrow raised. "...I thought snap was a card game?"  
  
"Oh sod off you ungrateful git." James scowled as he stood up. "I'm going to go pack, suddenly I can't wait to get away from you."  
  
"Oooh! _SNAP_!" Remus laughed suddenly, ducking as James' hand came flying for his head.  
  
"You're lucky you ducked." James sneered as he crossed his arms.  
  
"Or what, you'd try to hit him again... and miss... again?" Sirius laughed shaking his head.  
  
James rolled his eyes and began to walk away. "I hate you both, with a burning passion."  
  
"Aww... Jamie! We were just kidding!" Remus offered as he turned to watch James walk away. His response consisted of sticking one finger in the air and shaking his head.  
  
"Happy Christmas to you then!" Sirius yelled after him, causing James to turn around and smile, waving.  
  
Remus scoffed loudly, causing Sirius to look at him. "Why do you get a wave and he flips me the bird?"  
  
"Dear Remy, it's just because he loves me more."  
  
"You're insufferable. I'm leaving."  
  
Sirius pouted slightly, tipping his head up to a now standing Remus. "Can I have a kiss before I leave you for a week?"  
  
Remus lent over the table and stopped just a few inches from Sirius' face. "Why? "  
  
Sirius blinked slightly, then smiled. "Because I'm charming, and because my body is amazing."  
  
"And curse you for it Sirius Black... without your body I'd be long gone." Remus whispered as he lent forward smirking as he placed a gentle kiss to Sirius' lips. Remus lent back and cocked his head to the side slightly before reaching forward and placing a hand to Sirius' cheek, turning his head. He smiled as he lent forward and slowly dragged his tongue across Sirius' cheek, where Sirius had gotten food on his face. Remus gently nibbled on Sirius' ear before speaking. "You are the messiest person I know. Have a good time this Christmas... don't miss me too much."  
  
With that, Remus winked and turned to leave.  
  
"You are completely devious, Remus Lupin!" Sirius called after him, his cheeks bright red.  
  
"Comes with the territory, Sirius Black!" Remus called back over his shoulder as he waved.  
  
Sirius looked down and huffed slightly. "He is going to be the death of me..."

* * *

The Christmas week had come and gone, all was quiet around Hogwarts – Remus spent most of his time reading through the book Dumbledore had given him. He spent Christmas morning with himself, opening the gifts he had gotten from his mum and dad. His mother had gotten him a book comprised of all of Shakespeare's greatest sonnets and plays, his father got him a silver ring with the Gryffindor crest on it. Remus was never one to like receiving gifts, and smiled happily when he found that only two had come for him.  
  
It was the last day of December, and that night all of Remus' friends had decided to come back so they could share the New Year with eachother. James was the first to arrive back. Remus found himself sitting in the common room, reading the book his mother got him when the portrait swung open.  
  
"If anyone's in there – _HELP ME_!" James yelled as he tried to pick up his suitcase.  
  
Remus placed the bookmark between the pages, and set the book down gently on the couch. He jogged quickly over to the struggling James, and helped him pick up the suitcase. "What have you got in here?"  
  
"Oh you know... gifts, clothing, firewhiskey – nothing big." James waved the question aside as he spoke rather quickly.  
  
"Oh..." Remus stopped suddenly. "Wait... back up... _firewhiskey_?!"  
  
"Well yeah, my uncle gave me some for Christmas. It counts as a gift..."  
  
"James!! It's against the rules for minors to have firewhiskey! Especially when those minors are in school!" Remus racked his hand through his hair.  
  
"Oh come on! No one is going to find out! It's just us back here tonight." James laughed suddenly. "Stop playing the role of Prefect. You aren't a Prefect this year, Remus."  
  
"I know... but-"  
  
"Oh bugger it... it'll be fine. Help me get this upstairs before it pulls my arms off..." James managed to say as he pulled his trunk towards the stairwell. "Come on!"  
  
Remus jumped slightly, "Yeah... coming."  
  
By 4:30pm that afternoon, Lily, and Peter had already arrived back. They burst into the Common Room at the same time, both of them looking rather ruffled.  
  
"What's wrong, Lils?" James asked as he stood up and walked towards her, taking her trunk from her hands.  
  
"Absolutely horrid weather." Lily scowled as she pulled her toque off of her head. "God its cold out there."  
  
"Mmm... well good thing I'm here then, eh?" James cooed as he pulled her into his arms. "I'll warm you up..."  
  
"Do you ever think with anything above your belt, James?" She laughed as James kissed her cold neck.  
  
"Of course not, you should know that by now."  
  
"Yes, yes... help me with my trunk then." She smiled as she pulled herself out of his arms and waved briskly over at Remus. "Hey! How was your break?"  
  
"Oh it was alright... yours?" Remus waved back slightly before crossing his legs towards the fire.  
  
"It was grand, thank-you." She pulled her scarf off and undid her jacket, standing with her hands on her hips. "Is Sirius back yet?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Pity..."  
  
Remus cocked his head to the side; a questioning look arose on his face. "...Pity?"  
  
"Mhm!" She smiled as she followed James towards the stairwell. "We'll have to wait for him before we can play."  
  
"...Play?" this time it was James who spoke. "Play what?"  
  
"A game... what else?" Lily rolled her eyes and shushed James before he could speak again. She shoved him up the stairs with a smile and disappeared behind the stonewall.  
  
"You want any help, Peter?" Remus chuckled as he watched Peter attempt to untie his scarf.  
  
"Yeah... my mother doesn't know how to put on scarves... GAH!" He flung his hands in the air and cursed.  
  
"Hold on, don't explode yet." Remus stood and hurried over to Peter, looking at the knot. "Is your mother blind?"  
  
Peter's lips hitched into a slight smile. "Probably... Can you get it undone? I'm starting to feel light headed..."  
  
Remus laughed slightly as he loosened the knot. "Yes... here you go." He undid the last knot and smirked, pointing a finger at Peter – causing him to go cross-eyed as he looked at it. "Don't let her touch your scarf again."  
  
Peter smiled from the side of his mouth, taking a hold of his trunk. "Yeah... I won't. Thanks for the help."  
  
"Not a problem." Remus watched as Peter came closer to the steps of the dorm. "Hey... any idea when Sirius will be back?"  
  
"... Uhhh..." Peter turned around and shrugged. "I have no idea... He didn't tell any of us on the way to King's Cross."  
  
"Alright... thanks anyway."  
  
"Yup." Peter smiled and turned to ascend the stairs.  
  
An hour later, Lily, James, and Peter all emerged from the stair well. Their things had all been unpacked, and they walked over to join Remus by the fire.  
  
James spoke first, wiping his glasses off on his shirt as she sat down in an armchair. "Sirius back yet?"  
  
"Did he come up to the dorms, James?" Remus answered with a question.  
  
"...No."  
  
"Then he isn't back yet."  
  
"Crafty man, Remus... crafty man." James slid his glasses back on and sat back, letting out a groan. "So what's this game, Lily?"  
  
"I'm not going to tell you anything about it until Sirius gets here." She smirked, tucking her legs underneath her as she sat on the couch.  
  
"Why can't you tell us now? Who knows when that dolt's going to get here – no offence Remus." James spoke in an irritated tone as he looked over at Remus.  
  
"Non taken." Remus spoke without looking up from his book.  
  
_"IT'S COLD AS HELL OUT THERE!!!"_  
  
Four wizards looked up at the portrait, to see a very white, shivering Sirius. Remus raised his eyebrows as Sirius shook the snow off of his body.  
  
"Hell is hot, Sirius. Not cold." Lily offered as she looked over her shoulder.  
  
"She's right." Remus agreed, standing up. "Hell is very, _very_ hot." Remus grinned slightly as he closed the distance between Sirius and himself.  
  
Missing Remus' meaning in the words completely, Sirius sighed. "Alright, so it's freezing out there... it's BLOODY freezing. How's that for you politically correct party poopers?"  
  
"Just fine." Remus lent forward and kissed a snowflake off of Sirius' nose. "I missed you..."  
  
Sirius smiled and took Remus in his arms, ignoring the squeak of protest as snow fell down Remus' shirt. "You did not."  
  
"You're making me wet..." Remus shivered slightly as Sirius kissed his forehead.  
  
"Mmm... really?"  
  
"The – _AHH_!" Remus yelped as a cold mitten found its way up Remus' shirt, resting on his lower back. "OH GOD LET GO!" Remus began to squirm in Sirius' arms, knowing his attempts wouldn't work.  
  
"...Nah." Sirius picked Remus up and hauled him over his shoulder, taking his trunk in his other hand. "Give us 10 minutes."  
  
"That's disgusting." Peter wrinkled his nose as he watched Sirius carry a flailing Remus up the stairs.  
  
Sirius and Remus had disappeared behind the stairwell, when Remus had finally stopped flailing his legs in the air. He helplessly hung over Sirius' shoulder as Sirius entered the dorm. Sirius dropped his trunk by his bed first before laying Remus down on his own bed.  
  
"You had better change. You're soaked."  
  
"Yeah because of you! You bleeding idiot." Remus scowled as he pulled off his shirt. "I was so warm, and then you just had to take me in your arms-"  
  
"Big strong arms." Sirius interrupted as he pulled his scarf off, aswell as his jacket.  
  
"Whatever – you just had to... What was I talking about again...?" Remus had suddenly lost his track of thought as he held his damp sweater in his hands.  
  
"My big strong arms." Sirius smiled as he pulled off his sweater.  
  
"Right, Thank-you."  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Anyway, you just had to take me in your 'big strong arms' and soak me with cold snow. Why would you do such a thing like that to me?"  
  
Sirius smirked as he walked towards Remus. "So I could see you without your shirt on."  
  
Remus took a deep breath and pushed Sirius back. "You're insufferable Sirius Black."  
  
"Indeed I am. But we established that last week." Sirius took a hold of Remus' wrists lightly and wrapped them around his waist, holding Remus' hands near his lower back – causing Remus to stand against his chest. "...I miss this, Remy."  
  
Remus smiled and turned his hands, brushing his fingers under the hem of Sirius' white t-shirt, touching the warm skin underneath. "Tell me you love me."  
  
"I love you." Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus' shoulders, holding him closer.  
  
"Mmm... good." Remus got up on his tiptoes and kissed Sirius lips which were still slightly cold from being outside. Remus enjoyed the feeling of cold lips against his own, but still ended the kiss before either of them could take it further.  
  
"Don't you love me?"  
  
"Sometimes I do." Remus smirked, leaning his head against Sirius' chest.  
  
"Ouch..."  
  
Remus glanced up at Sirius quickly before placing a gentle kiss to his collarbone. "I was only kidding... of course I love you."  
  
"All the time?"  
  
"All the time." Remus repeated, taking in Sirius scent, holding him tightly against his body.  
  
_"IT'S BEEN 15 MINUTES! GET DOWN HERE!"_ James yelled up the stairwell.  
  
_"YEAH, YEAH! HOLD ON TO YOUR KNICKERS MISS. POTTER!"_ Sirius yelled back at him, causing Remus to cringe slightly at the loudness of his voice. "Sorry, Rem."  
  
"It's alright – we had better get down there though... Lily wants to play a game and I'm dying to find out what it is."  
  
"A game?" Sirius let himself be led off by Remus. Suddenly realizing that Remus was shirtless, he came to a stop. "Want to put a shirt on there Remy?"  
  
"Ah... yes..." Remus quickly dug through his trunk until he found a simple button up shirt. "Thank-you."  
  
"Yup."  
  
Remus quickly did up the buttons on his shirt and again took Sirius' hand, leading him down to the common room.  
  
Once everyone was settled into a circle, Lily began to explain the game.  
  
"It's called truth or dare-"  
  
"Jesus! I know what that game is – why did you wait to tell us?!" James sighed loudly.  
  
"_STRIP _truth or dare." She finished, scowling in James's direction. "Anyway, every time someone backs out on a question or dare, they must remove one article of clothing."  
  
Remus shook his head. "No way! _NO_ way am I going to get naked infront of you all."  
  
"Then you'll just have to do everything, won't you?" Lily smirked. "James, get the firewhiskey."  
  
James nodded, "Accio firewhiskey..." he grabbed the firewhiskey as soon as it appeared in front of him – freshly coming from his trunk.  
  
"Firewhiskey?" Sirius blurted out picking up one of the bottles. "Oh how I love your Uncle."  
  
James laughed, "You and me both – but solely for this reason. Here, everyone gets one." James began to pass out the bottles, and when Remus refused to take it, he frowned. "Come on, please? You have to."  
  
"I don't want to."  
  
"Remmm... pleasee?" Sirius whined beside him, pushing the bottle in his direction. "Please, please?"  
  
"I said no." Remus scowled as Sirius placed the bottle in his lap.  
  
"Fine – My turn first... I pick Remus. Truth or Dare?" Lily spoke up quickly.  
  
"...Wha? Oh... Truth."  
  
Lily shook her head and smiled. "Which do you prefer during sex – top or bottom?"  
  
_"WHAT?!"_ Remus choked out as Sirius began to grin beside him.  
  
"Well? Either answer the question or loose clothes." Lily's smile widened as she took a sip of her firewhiskey.  
  
"I... Oh God..." Remus looked down at the carpet, blushing furiously. "Top."  
  
James' mouth dropped open, as did Peter's. Sirius and Lily just laughed – both taking swigs of their alcohol.  
  
"I never figured you for a topper, Remus." James snickered as he felt his cheeks flush.  
  
"Yeah... well... Er... Peter - truth or dare." Remus changed the subject quickly.  
  
"Truth."  
  
"Umm... What?" Remus lent over as Sirius whispered into his ear.  
  
"No helping!!! That's cheating! Sirius looses an article of clothing!" Lily screamed out suddenly.  
  
"Ahh! Fine..." Sirius rolled his eyes as he pulled off a sock.  
  
"Oooh baby...! That's what I'm talkin' about!" James whooped as a blue sock was thrown at his head.  
  
"Alright! I've got it!" Remus took the bottle out from between his legs and set it down infront of himself. "Peter – do you fancy McGonagall?"  
  
"...Er..." Peter's cheeks flushed as he looked around his circle of friends. "I... Well she is kinda pretty..."  
  
"That's so wrong, Peter..." James shook his head, making a gagging noise.  
  
"LILY! TRUTH OR DARE!" Peter spoke quickly before Sirius could say anything to add to his already embarrassed state.  
  
"Dare." She answered simply, sitting down her drink and challenging him with her eyes.  
  
"I dare you to kiss me." He smirked to himself as her eyes went wide.  
  
"Ohh... Do I have to?" Lily frowned.  
  
"Yes." Peter smiled, knowing that she would never kiss him.  
  
"Eww... No offence..." Lily started to take off her stocking. "I can't do it..."  
  
"Excellent plan, Peter." James laughed as Lily sat her sock down beside herself, pretending to disregard that comment.  
  
"Alright... Remus – Truth or Dare?"  
  
"...Dare?"  
  
"Excellent... I dare you to drink that whole bottle of firewhiskey before this game is over. Start now." Lily laughed when Remus made a face.  
  
Sirius lent over and opened the bottle, handing it back to Remus. "It's booze or clothes, Rem. Choose wisely."  
  
"Bloody hell..." Remus grabbed the bottle and took a huge swig. "Happy?"  
  
"Very!" Lily smiled. "Your turn."  
  
Remus made a face as he took another smaller swig of firewhiskey. "James... Truth or Dare."  
  
"Dare."  
  
"Give Lily a lap dance." Remus spoke without smiling.  
  
James gasped slightly then looked over at Lily, his cheeks flaming. He smiled shyly, as he took his shirt off, throwing it behind himself. Lily shook her head, smiling warmly at him.  
  
"Sirius... Truth or Dare?"  
  
"Truth." Sirius lay back slightly, crossing his ankles and leaning on his elbow.  
  
"Why did you do what you did to Remus?"  
  
Sirius felt his stomach flop, and thought for a moment. "I was confused. Remus – truth or dare?"  
  
"Dare."  
  
"French kiss anyone of your choice." Sirius smirked slightly, thinking that Remus would choose him.  
  
Remus shrugged and began to crawl towards James.  
  
"Hey! Wait! I said anyone of your choice Rem."  
  
"I know." Remus smiled at Sirius as he sat down infront of James. "He is my choice."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Hey... you got to kiss Madeline – why can't I kiss James?" The room fell silent as Remus scowled over at Sirius who was now sitting cross-legged.  
  
"You really want to kiss me with tongue?" James slurred slightly, a smile on his lips.  
  
"Why the hell not?" Remus leant forward, and allowed his hand to travel towards James' neck, he smiled as he slid his fingers into James's hair. "Ready?"  
  
James stole a quick look at Lily, and when she nodded – he replied. "I guess."  
  
Remus smiled quickly shutting his eyes, and closed the distance between their lips. At first he only laid his lips on James', taking in the taste of him. After a moment, he ended the short kiss and dove back again, this time kissing him with his mouth slightly open, running his tongue along the slight part of James' lips in-between the top and bottom lip. Remus parted James' lips with his tongue, and lightly caressed James's tongue with his own – tasting firewhiskey. By this time, James had gotten into the kiss and began to roll his own tongue against Remus', arching his back slightly as he ran his hand up Remus' arm, resting it in his hair. Remus ended the kiss slightly before going back for more. The boys' tongues met outside their mouths, before Remus pushed his tongue back into James' mouth, tightening his grip on James' hair.  
  
"...Jesus Christ..." Sirius let out the breath he was holding as he watched them kiss; a slight smile fell on his lips.  
  
Remus lightly sucked on James' tongue before placing one last gentle kiss on his lips. He sat back and felt James' hand travel back down his arm until it rest in his own lap.  
  
James blushed slightly as he opened his eyes, looking at Remus. "Uhm... that was..."  
  
"The hottest thing I've ever seen..." Lily interrupted him, her mouth hanging slightly open.  
  
Remus smiled slightly as he crawled back to his own place beside Sirius. Remus had dared Peter to dance about the room – shaking his butt rather wildly. As everyone watched and laughed, Remus quickly glanced over at Sirius before taking another much-needed swig of his firewhiskey. "...What?"  
  
Sirius shook his head frowning slightly. He lent forward and whispered into Remus' ear. "Why don't you ever kiss me like that?"  
  
"Because you never asked me to." Remus answered simply, scooting slightly closer to Sirius, placing a warm hand to his thigh.  
  
"Will you kiss me like that?"  
  
"...Soon." Remus lent over and kissed Sirius' neck softly. His breath was hot on Sirius' neck as he spoke. "Be patient with me, Siri. I need time."  
  
Sirius nodded slightly, resting his own hand on Remus', stroking the faint scar on his hand.  
  
An hour had passed before everyone had finished their firewhiskey – and the game. Sirius had ended up pant less – though why he didn't just take his shirt off was beyond Remus, James only in his pants, Lily in a skirt and bra, Peter was also in his boxers. Remus was the only one who managed to stay completely dressed.  
  
Peter had gone to bed early, and the rest of the friends sat around the common room, enjoying the silence – when James suddenly sat up.  
  
"12 seconds till midnight!"  
  
Sirius grinned and pulled Remus from sitting beside him on the couch, to his lap. Remus smiled as he wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck, bowing his head down so that their foreheads touched.  
  
"5! 4! 3! 2-" James was cut off as Lily's lips found his.  
  
Sirius merely smiled up at Remus. "Happy New Year, Rem."  
  
"Happy New Year, Siri." Remus appreciated the fact that Sirius had not kissed him. So instead, he lent down and lightly kissed Sirius. Remus whispered against Sirius's lips. "What's your New Years Resolution?" 

"I don't really know... Suppose to pass all the N.E.W.T's," Sirius ran a hand along Remus's spine, stopping at his shoulders. "Or to have you back in my bed again."

Remus laughed and smacked Sirius upside the head. "Fine Resolution you've made."

"Can't blame me for trying can you?"

"...No." Remus grabbed onto Sirius' tie and pulled him towards his body. "Kiss me."

"Only if that's a Resolution, otherwise-"

"Just do it."

"Yes, sir." Sirius lent forward and lightly kissed Remus' lips. "There."

"Tease." Remus frowned before placing his lips on Sirius', exploring his mouth with his tongue gently. Their tongues rolled against one another softly, but within what seemed like seconds, their tongues were involved in an epic battle of passion. Ending the kiss, Remus lent back - both of their lips swollen.

Sirius panted sligtly, "You're going to be the death of me..."

"Fine way to die..." Remus smirked as he lent in for another kiss, holding Sirius tight against his chest.


	17. Chapter 17 : Hard R

The next day, the Marauders sat at their regular places during lunch. While his friends spoke animatedly around him, Remus fell quiet looking in his tea, stirring it slowly with his spoon. Suddenly he felt a hand on his, pulling the ring off his finger.

"James! What are you doing?"

James lent forward and held the ring infront of him. "This is silver, Remy... what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Jesus, if it was silver I would have known." Remus scowled at him and grabbed for the ring, only to miss. "James Potter, give me the ring."

"No."

Remus rolled his eyes and glared over at James. "If it was silver, James, _I WOULD HAVE KNOWN."_ He spoke through clenched teeth.

"...James... just give him the ring." Sirius said softly, looking at James. When he refused, Sirius stood up and yanked the ring from his grasp, handing it to Remus.

"...Thank-you."

"Yeah." Sirius smiled faintly before looking back at his food.

A few moments passed, when Remus turned to James, sighing. "Listen, I'm sorry."

He didn't raise his eyes he just continued to eat. "Mhm."

"James..." Remus softened his voice. "I appreciate you looking out for me, really I do... but..."

"What?"

"James... use your head. Would my parents send me a silver ring?"

James looked up from his meal and over at Remus. "No."

"Exactly... it's white gold." Remus smiled and reached over the table, placing a gentle hand on James' – a gesture to further his apology.

"I guess we're all just really jumpy because of the upcoming exams." Peter offered with a small smile, hoping to distract any other attempts at fighting.

"Yeah, you're right, Wormtail. Doesn't happen often – but you're right." Sirius nodded his head. "God... you realize we've known eachother for _7 years_?"

"Yeah... pretty crazy huh?" James smiled, taking a sip of his juice. "I didn't think we'd ever make it this far. Both in school and our friendships."

Remus nodded, looking back down at his tea, heaving a sigh. "You realize... we probably won't see eachother after graduation, right?"

"That won't ever happen. The Marauders won't ever separate." Sirius smiled, winking at his friends. "We're stuck together for life and beyond. Sorry mates, but that's the way it's going to work."

Remus looked beside him, at the ever-positive Sirius. "Do you really believe that?"

Sirius reached under the table and found Remus' hand, entwining their fingers as he gazed into Remus' eyes, a calm smile playing on his lips. "Of course I do."

A smile found its way onto Remus' lips, only hitching the right side of his lips up. He looked back at his food, taking in a deep breath as he poked at a piece of food. "Why... why do you..."

"What's up, Moony?" James swallowed, his attention falling on Remus.

Remus gulped, shaking his head and letting go of Sirius' warm hand. "N-nothing."

"Liar. Tell me what's on your mind." Sirius said, mimicking what he had said during their very first meal at Hogwarts.

"I... it's just that..." Remus stumbled, trying to find the words he desperately needed to. "Why do you... why are you rather," He corrected himself before continuing. "Why are you friends with me...?" His friends sat back stunned as Remus looked up at them. Searching their eyes for any fragment of reason or emotion, and, when none of them answered, Remus' heart fell and he smiled quickly as he shook his head. "Forget I asked."

"Remus... don't do that." James said softly, with a smile. He pushed his fallen glasses up his nose. "I'm friends with you because of all the things you've done for me, because of the way you treat me, because of how you care for me. How you've helped me pass all those tests, and brought me up while I was down." He smiled wider, "And because of the way you kissed me."

Remus laughed quietly, bringing a hand up to his lips, chewing on his nails.

"That pretty much goes for all of us, Remy." Sirius spoke quietly as Peter nodded. "James pretty much covered all the bases..." Sirius wrapped an arm around Remus' shoulder, resting his hand on Remus' bicep, pulling him close as he whispered in his ear. "I'm friends with you because of the way you love me, because of the way you treat people lower than you – always with respect, and because you make me feel like a better person when I'm around you." He lightly kissed Remus' cheekbone.

Remus sniffed and turned, taking Sirius in his arms. He smiled into Sirius' hair, pulling him close. "How can you do something so asinine like screw up a good relationship, and then do something so completely perfect without even knowing it?" Remus spoke softly into Sirius' hair, feeling tears fall from his eyes.

Sirius placed his hand on the back of Remus' head, "You know me better than I know myself, so you should know the answer to that question."

Remus lent back slightly, placing his hands on either side of Sirius' neck, his forehead resting against Sirius'. "I don't know the answer."

"Neither do I."

Remus smiled slightly, a tear dripping from his chin to Sirius' knee. "I hate that you did that to me."

Sirius rest his hands on the crook of Remus' arm, sighing slightly. There wasn't anything he could say, he couldn't say that he hated that he did it – that would only result in another fight. He couldn't say he was sorry, Remus would tell him to stop apologizing. So he merely sat quietly, looking down. Sirius gently ran his fingers along the fabric of Remus' shirt, enjoying the soft texture under his fingers.

Suddenly, Remus burst out laughing.

Sirius let go and lent back looking into his eyes. "What?"

Remus slouched slightly covering his face with his hands laughing.

"What did you say to him?" James asked as he set down his drink.

"I didn't... I was just... Remus!" Sirius shook Remus gently, trying to get him to stop laughing.

Remus smiled widely and again placed his hands on either side of Sirius' neck. He lent forward and kissed Sirius multiple times on the lips, eventually taking him in his arms, traveling kissing along his cheek. "Siri you passed it... I can't believe it!"

"Jesus... Passed what?!" Sirius was rather alarmed by now, his eyebrows scrunched together. "I wasn't aware that I was being tested!"

Remus laughed slightly before leaning back and taking a deep breath. "I was testing you, I have been testing you for a while."

"...What?"

Remus laughed and took a hold of Sirius' hands. "Siri... I devised a plan, a seven point system, one for every year at Hogwarts - mainly making it up as I went. When you came in yesterday, I told you that hell was very, very hot – with a hint of seduction in my voice, you didn't catch it – first point. After you soaked me, as I knew you would, I took my shirt off – intending to see if you would tell me to put a shirt on before going downstairs to help me avoid any embarrassment. You did – second point." Remus smiled wide as he squeezed Sirius' hand. "You let me kiss James, even though you didn't want me to, if you would have asked me not to, I wouldn't have – but that wasn't the case. You trusted me enough to let me do it, knowing that I wouldn't peruse that any further – third point. I put myself in a position to let you kiss me at Midnight last night – you didn't, showing that you respected my need for time, and again that night I told you to kiss me and you refused, showing me you didn't want me to move too fast. And even though your way of saying no didn't really sound like it, the quick peck you gave me did – fourth point."

"Remy... I don't-" Sirius interrupted him, his voice full of confusion.

"Shh... let me finish." Sirius nodded, waiting for Remus to continue. "Anyway, this morning – I told James to take my ring and refuse to give it back to me and generally be an ass about it," At this, James smiled when Sirius looked over at him – still very confused. "I wanted to see if you would interrupt, and take the ring from him – giving it to me, showing that you didn't want to see me upset over something – resulting in a fright with James – fifth point." Remus smiled brightly. "I told you that I hated what you did to me, and I wanted to see if you would say anything back to me. You didn't - sixth point."

"I... I still don't get it." Sirius shook his head, confusing only mounting even more with each passing second. "That's only six..."

"Ask me the same question you did before you left for Christmas." Remus smiled, his nerves wavering just a bit.

Sirius sat silent for a moment, before continuing. "That's rather vague, Remy."

"Please, please just do it."

"I..." Sirius sat back and thought for a moment. His eyes suddenly becoming bright. "Will you be mine?"

"Point seven... showing me that the bond still exists." Remus felt tears fall down his cheeks as he lent forward, kissing Sirius softly. "And as an answer... yes, I will be yours."

Sirius barley had any time to respond when James started to clap, a smile on his face – followed by Peter. Lily looked back at them, her eyebrows raised.

"What's going on?"

"Sirius just passed the hardest test of his life." James howled as he clapped louder.

"You're kidding?" was the response from Lily as she began to laugh.

"Nope."

"Way to go Siri!!" She whooped and began to clap aswell.

"Why...stop clapping!" Sirius stood up and stepped out from behind the bench.

Remus stood, also stepping out from behind the bench. He took a step forward, in-between Sirius' feet, wrapping his arms around Sirius' neck. "You should be proud of yourself, Siri."

"Why...?" He tentatively wrapped his own arms around Remus' waist.

"If you hadn't have done what you did at each of those points, I never would have been yours."

"You... if I hadn't have acted the way I did... you wouldn't ever have said yes to me?"

"...Nope." Remus smiled, leaning up slightly, his voice lowering into a seductive whisper. "Kiss me."

Sirius didn't speak, he merely lent forward until their lips touched. Sirius pulled away slightly speaking in a low tone. "You realize that everyone is watching right?"

"Let them watch." Remus smiled as he lent forward again, only this time he extended his tongue and ran it along Sirius' bottom lip before pressing his lips to Sirius'. It tickled his lips when Remus felt Sirius' tongue slide effortlessly across his bottom lip. Before now he hadn't noticed how much he had truly fallen in love with kissing Sirius. Remus felt his stomach flop when Sirius' tongue entered his mouth massaging his own tongue. Remus couldn't help but stop the kiss and dissolve into a laugh.

"...What?"

"I've just forgotten how much I loved to kiss you."

Sirius smiled. "Then you're not laughing because I did something wrong while I was kissing you?"

"No." Remus smiled warmly before kissing Sirius' cheek. "Let's get out of here..."

Sirius followed Remus, taking his hand. "Well, well, well... looks as if I will get my New Years Wish..."

"Mmmm..." Remus turned around and grabbed Sirius' shirt collar, kissing him hard, nearly toppling over. Once Sirius had wrapped his arms around Remus and kissed back, Remus broke the contact of their lips and cooed at Sirius, running a smooth finger across his bottom lip. "Who knew you'd be so... up to studying for your N.E.W.T's?"

"Anything that involves you instructing me gets me in the mood." Sirius smirked, being pulled once more in the direction of the exit of the Great Hall.

"You are definitely strikingly unconventional in your ways Sirius Black..." Remus rounded the corner and pulled Sirius towards his body. "Where's the best place to study?" He placed a kiss to Sirius' exposed collarbone.

"The dorm?"

"Been there..." Remus trailed another kiss along Sirius' neck.

"Ahh... Sh-show-"

"There too." Remus interrupted him, running his hand down Sirius' front, slowly inching his way towards his pants. "Think faster."

"Why are you so forceful all of sudd- AH!" Sirius inhaled sharply as he felt Remus' hand run against his groin.

"Does it matter?" Remus whispered into the crook of Sirius' neck.

"This reminds me of the time after..." Sirius cleared his throat as he looked around. "After Care of Magical Creatures."

Remus' eyes brightened. "Perfect!" He quickly reached for Sirius' hand, and made for the exit of the school.

"It's snowing outside! And we haven't got cloaks!" Sirius stalled, looking out the door.

"Mmm... Pity." Remus sighed, still leading Sirius. Instead of going through the doors, Remus pulled Sirius in the direction of an empty classroom. "This'll do..." Remus smiled as he pushed the door open.

"Remus! A classroom? What has gotten into you?"

"Well I had hoped soon it would be you, but as for now..." Remus trailed off, leading Sirius towards a rocking chair in the corner, pushing him down onto the chair. "I suppose the reason for my behavior will have to be a reward for you getting all 7 points."

"You've changed..."

"Have I?" Remus spoke in a slow, lengthened tone as he kneeled infront of Sirius, his hands running up Sirius' thighs gradually. His amber eyes met azure as he spoke. "How so?"

"Well... look at yourself."

Remus looked down quickly. "I see no change."

"No... what your doing..." Sirius gasped slightly as Remus pulled his shirt out of his pants and began to work his fingers around the belt buckle.

"I'm returning the long awaited favor." Remus kissed a small piece of exposed flesh just below Sirius' navel.

"I... Jesus Rem!" Sirius quickly grabbed Remus' hands, Remus looked up – a trace of a smile still on his lips. "Why are you being so forceful?"

"Because I'm tired of sitting around, and just watching things happen. I'm tired of hoping for things to go my way."

"I see..."

"Now please... let me do this for you?" Remus smiled as Sirius let go of his hands. "Thank-you."

"In a moment... I'll be thanking you, I'm sure."

Remus' laugh was deep and throaty as he once again grasped Sirius' belt, undoing it within seconds. "There's a catch, Sirius my love..."

Sirius watched as Remus undid the fly to his faded trousers, and pushed the fabric aside. "And... and what's that?"

"I want you to tell me what to do to you." Remus smiled, pulling Sirius pants down slightly as he looked up. "Or I won't do anything."

"You're joking? How do you expect me to make any other noise except a moan?"

Remus laughed as he rubbed the palm of his hand over Sirius. "You'll find a way. Start now."

"I... This feels really stupid." Sirius blushed slightly, hiding his face with a hand, the other gripping the armrest. "Just ... just do what you always do... I don't know."

"Siri, I've never given you a blowjob," Remus reminded him as he laughed slightly, his fingers playing with the slit in Sirius' boxers. "You need to tell me what to do."

"Just... take it out." Sirius moaned still covering his eyes.

"Take what out?"

"Remus..." Sirius looked down at Remus, his cheeks completely red. "My..."

"Dick?" Remus offered with a smile, running his cool fingers underneath the slit of Sirius' boxers, drinking up the warmth they encountered.

"Yes! Just take it out... oh God this is embarrassing."

Remus laughed. "I love how you squirm when you're embarrassed."

Sirius was about to respond, just as his boxers and pants were pulled down, and lips brushed up against the head of his penis. Instead, Sirius let out a rather unmanly squeak, his free hand slamming down on the armrest, gripping at the wood rather roughly. Remus nervously extended his tongue, running it along the length of Sirius' erection. Running his hands up Sirius' thighs and chest, his breath fell hot against Sirius. "What next?"

"...Just underneath the head... AH! Yes... there..." Sirius took a deep breath. "Con-concent-trate..." the last of his sentence was cut off with a moan.

Remus took the hint and swirled his tongue against the dip just underneath the head of his penis. His hands lightly traveled back down Sirius' torso, and down his thighs again, one hand cupping Sirius' sac as the other roamed around Sirius' navel, lightly stimulating the skin. Remus felt Sirius thrust into the air and immediately wrapped his lips around the head of his penis, gaining a moan.

"Just there... Ah God... right there..." Sirius' head fell slightly as his breathing quickened.

Remus had stopped and lent forward, getting to his feet he yanked the rest of Sirius' shirt out of his pants, pulling it over his head. He felt Sirius' hands roam up his thighs and move towards the button of his pants. Remus smiled, allowing Sirius to pull his pants down in one swift motion. He kicked off his shoes as well as his pants as he grabbed for Sirius wand. He had no idea what he had said, but in a matter of seconds a shiny lubricating substance had flown out of the tip of the wand, covering Sirius' penis.

Remus stepped closer to Sirius, undoing the buttons on his shirt. Sirius lent forward, placing hot kisses on Remus' scarred torso, wrapping his fingers around the elastic band of Remus' boxers, pulling them off his body. Remus had maneuvered himself so that he was able to hover slightly over the tip of Sirius' penis. He ran his hands through Sirius' hair as he spoke. "I want you inside me... I _need_ to feel you inside me."

Sirius nodded meekly as his hands found Remus' hips, pulling him down slowly. Remus threw his head back as the tip of Sirius' penis came through the first wall of muscles. He stopped for a moment, adjusting to the pressure. He then slowly lowered himself further, until he found he could no longer move until he once again allowed the muscles to stretch and relax. As soon as Remus was prepared to move on, he allowed sank down until he was sitting on Sirius' lap.

"Alright...?"

"Mmm... Yes." Remus nearly whined, his breath becoming ragged.

Sirius smiled as Remus' hands moved from his neck to the back of the chair. Remus wriggled his hips slightly, before moving. The sweet, exhilarating noises that escaped from deep within Remus' chest did nothing but excite Sirius, only heightening his pleasure. Remus's breathing began to quicken, and his skin began to break out in a thin sheen of exertion.

"T-tell me something..." Remus drawled as he moved up and down, gripping hard onto the back of the rocking chair.

"Ah God... What?"

Remus bit down hard on his lip. "Are you sure you're..." a positively animal groan clawed its way up Remus' throat and out his mouth. "You're gay?"

Sirius ran his hands up Remus' back underneath his shirt, feeling the scars on his back with his fingertips. His hands found their way to Remus' shoulders, curling over his smooth muscles, fingertips brushing against his collarbone as he moved." Yes... yes..."

Sirius felt Remus' breath out quickly, thrusting in time with the rocking of the chair. Remus' head fell to rest on his arm as he thrust downwards, his blood pumping quickly throughout his body. Remus couldn't remember the last time he had felt like this. He scarcely remembered how it felt the first time. Though that didn't matter as he felt Sirius' grip on his shoulders tighten just hard enough to send a convulsion of multiple shivers down his spine and out the tips of his curled toes. Remus let his head fall back as he looked up at the ceiling moments before closing his eyes tightly. His eyebrows knitted together as his mouth dropped, his breathing stopping completely for a second.

Sirius opened his eyes, watching his lover in the throws of passion. Remus looked achingly stunning with his eyes shut in that manner and his mouth hanging partly open just slightly. There was something about the way his skin shimmered in the dull light that made him look almost angelic – despite the current goings on.

"You're so beautiful..."

Remus moaned slightly, turning his attention back to Sirius. A smile found his lips as his hands traveled from the chair to Sirius' neck. He lent forward, resting his forehead on Sirius', their hot breath commingling together. Sirius lent forward and kissed Remus gently on the lips, only to have it greeted by a small bite. Remus held onto Sirius' bottom lip with his teeth for only a second more before letting go.

Letting his hands wander, Remus wrapped them tightly around Sirius' neck, resting his head beside Sirius' – ear to ear. Sirius ran his hands down Remus' ever-moving body and found his lower back, encircling his arms around his slender waist. Remus felt his orgasm growing as he bit down on Sirius' shoulder, perhaps a little too hard.

Sirius held the werewolf as close to his body as he could, dropping his head to the crook of Remus' neck feeling his body tighten, seconds from release. Remus had made the same noise that he made when they were in the shower, strangely innocent in its vulgarity. Remus rocked slowly back and forth, holding Sirius tight against his body, his breathing started to slow only a little as Sirius pulled out of him.

"...Remus..."

"...Shh... just hold me," Remus whispered into Sirius' damp hair, running his hands through it gently. "just hold me."

Sirius closed his eyes and took in the aroma of sex swirling around them, feeling Remus' constant heartbeat beneath his soft skin. They remained in each other's arms until their hearts began to slow to a normal pace. Soon enough, Remus had regained the use of his very tired legs, and moved to gather his clothes, only to have Sirius stop him by wrapping his arms around Remus' waist, resting his head on Remus' shoulder.

"If that's what I get for doing something I wasn't even aware of..."

"Just wait until you do something well that you're aware of?" Remus supplied, laughing as he pulled his feet through his pant legs.

"Exactly."

Letting go of Remus to do up his own pants and find his shirt, Sirius waited for Remus to poke the button of his pants through the hole before taking him in his arms. "We have to do this more often..."

Remus swung his arms around Sirius', lightly clasping his hands together as his forearms rested on Sirius' shoulders. "In this classroom?"

"No... in a chair... with you on top."

Remus laughed leaning forward and kissing Sirius. During mid-kiss, a figure appeared at the open doorway.

"...Oh. My. _GOD_..."

Sirius and Remus jerked their heads towards the sickeningly familiar voice, only to be greeted with the person they most dreaded to see at this moment. Lucius Malfoy.

* * *

Author's Note: 

**_WOOAHH!!_** Imagine having your mortal enemy walking in on you JUST after you've had really good sex?! It's HORRIBLE... Ohhh oh the plot bunnies I've just planted. It's just so lovely, ne?

Anyway... I've been steadily getting less and less reviews. And it's _greatly_ saddening the author to receive downwards of 6 reviews for each chapter. And where have all my regular reviewes gonneee?! (whines loudly) I MISS YOUR REVIEWSS!!!!! (clears throat... _HINT, HINT, WINK, WINK, NUDGE, NUDGE, KNOW WHAT I MEAN, KNOW WHAT I MEAN?!)_ Thus endith the Monty Python quotage.

Anyhoohoo... ideas are always appreciated - sometimes used. (smiles) Till next chappie!!! (sets out more cookies)

PS:: _THANKYOU SO SO SO SO SOOO MUCH_ to those who still review my little peice of FanFiction smut/fluff/angstyness.. as always - the chapters keep coming because of you.


	18. Chapter 18

**Shout-Outs:**

Kynny: Your kiss has finally been granted! Yaaay! Also, the silver ring part was a mistake on my end – forgetting that silver is extremely harmful towards Werewolves. (facepalms) So I decided to clear it up in the next chapter... so... yes, bad editing on my part. Thank-you for pointing it out, but no – it won't add to Remus' angst. Other things will... (Eeehe! Oh the torture...!)

Rhiannan Star: The point system came completely out of the blue, I had written everything Remus had come up with before I came up with the point system myself. I love planting plot bunnies for myself without really knowing about it... they are so wondrous.

That seems to be it for now... I apologize for not mentioning everyone specifically – I've just addressed the few comments that I felt would answer questions that everyone has been having.

Thank-you to everyone aswell for commenting like mad on the last chapter. O.o... I was amazed at the amount of reviews I received, even when I hadn't posted for two days. Those kinds of things are really, really appreciated. Even little one liners work to make me jump about my computer chair in glee when I see the little thing pop up in MSN saying I have a new review. And also, if anyone wants to add me to his or her MSN lists – GO FOR IT!! I'd love to talk to any of you 'one-on-one'. My address is 'kayliebrianne' at hotmail . com (FanFiction won't let me put the whole address... bugger it!) incase any of you have been wondering.

Enough of the senseless babble – On to the chapter. (smiles)

* * *

He stood silently infront of the shocked couple, his eyes locked on them. What he wanted to do was run far from this room, but his feet seemed to be glued to the ground. Without warning, a hand came around his torso from behind groping at his crotch, and the door slammed. 

"Why are you just standing there, Malfoy?"

"I..." Lucius was about to answer when Sirius' jaw fell to the ground.

"HOLY SHIT!" He let go of Remus and pointed. "YOUR SHAGGING SNAPE?"

"I... BLACK?!" Snape immediately let go of Lucius and his face went completely white.

"...Oh dear..." Remus' hand came up to his mouth, covering it as he watched Severus scramble to find words.

"Rem! Rem they're shagging eachother!" Sirius laughed as he tugged slightly on Remus' shirt, causing it to fall off his shoulder.

"Yes, Sirius... I gathered as much." Remus smiled politely over at Sirius, and then looked down at his bare chest. As he looked up – Remus noticed that Lucius had the same kind of expression on his face as a deer did when caught in headlights. "We should go, Sirius. Let them tend to eachother..." Remus began to do up his buttons quickly, starting at the bottom.

"No way! This is to precious!" Sirius strode forward, his cheeks still red from being with Remus. "How long has this been going on?"

"Sod off Black." Severus sneered as he crossed his arms. "Get out."

"Are you really in the position to tell me what to do, Snape? Remus and I hold the secret that you have been keeping for-"

"GET OUT!" Severus yelled as he advanced on Sirius. "One more word Black and I'll-"

Sirius merely watched as Snape advanced on him. Sirius crossed his arms and smirked. "Be forced to thwart your fairy wrath on me?"

_"IMOBULOUS!"_

Snape was frozen mid-stride, his wand pointing at Sirius – a horrid expression of complete abhorrence masked on his face. Lucius was still standing in the same position he was when he entered, wide eyed and his mouth hang half open.

Remus lowered his wand and grabbed Sirius' shirtsleeve, pulling him towards the door. "We need to go. NOW. SIRIUS! I SAID NOW!" Remus had by this point began to drag Sirius towards the door, pushing him forward.

The two had made it out of the room, and Remus had shut the door – glad that half the school was still empty. This was a complete disaster.

"Oh God!" Sirius laughed. "I can't believe it, Snape's a fairy!"

"Yeah, and so are you." Remus rolled his eyes, still leading Sirius away from the room. "Will you pick up your feet and walk, Sirius?!"

"Ow! Jesus, _let go!_"

Remus loosened his grip on Sirius' forearm slightly, though not ceasing his walk nor letting go.

"Remus, I said let go!" Sirius reefed his arm out of Remus' grip, rubbing at the now very tender skin. "That's going to bruise..."

"Oh shut-up!" Remus began to walk forward, only to have his arm caught by a strong hand; his body was twirled around and caught between Sirius' arms.

"What's gotten into you?" Sirius spoke quietly as he looked down into amber eyes.

"Gotten into me? Did you miss what just happened Sirius?" Remus smiled faintly and shook his head. "We just caught Severus and Lucius meeting up for a romp... do you have any idea what is going to happen if this ever gets out?!"

"Yeah the whole school will-"

"Know that we _just_ had sex in there, and that _they_ have sex in there, Sirius." Remus broke into Sirius' thought, his eyes wide. "No one can know about this, Sirius... _no one_."

"But..."

"Sirius! No one can know!" Remus slid out of Sirius' arms and began to walk in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. "I need a shower..." He raked his hand through his hair, shaking his head.

Sirius started with a jump, jogging up to walk beside his boyfriend. "What for?"

"Because my body is covered in sweat, and your..." He paused slightly looking down as he blushed. "Your semen is all over my thighs."

"Ahh... Seems a plausible reason." Sirius slipped a hand around Remus' waist, pulling him close. He lightly kissed Remus' temple as they walked. "It's going to be so hard not telling, and I'll be tempted to tell everyone at Hogwarts - I'll have you know that."

"Yes, I know... but you have to promise me that you won't _ever_ repeat what has just happened to anyone in your life." Sirius was quiet as they walked together, obviously thinking over the request. "Sirius, promise me."

"I..."

"If you love me you'll do it." Remus finally said as they separated and began to walk up the stairs.

"That's not fair, Remus." Sirius jumped past the faulty step and hung on to the railing of the stair as it began to change its course and swing sideways. "You can't use that against me."

Remus turned to face Sirius and crossed his arms. "Sirius," He sighed slightly before continuing. "If word gets out that we've had sex in this school, let alone caught other people _meeting_ to have sex... it would be complete and utter chaos."

"What do you mean?"

"It's against the rules for any student to have sex with anyone while under Hogwart's watch, rather, in the walls of the school, Sirius." Remus turned as the stairs finally stopped on the floor the two needed to get off at.

"Then why hasn't Dumbledore come after us? He must know about the bond..." Sirius jumped up a few steps before coming to a rest infront of the portrait. "Wouldn't he have contacted us if he knew the bond had been completed?"

Remus shook his head; "We first had sex when the Hogsmeade weekend was near Siri, meaning that we could have very well done it in some shabby hotel room in Hogsmeade. That doesn't classify as Hogwarts does it?"

"...No." Sirius looked down and followed as Remus walked into the empty common room. "How do you know all that?"

"I was a prefect... we were required to know every rule ever set down by the past and present Headmasters at Hogwarts as well as the rules set down by the Ministry of Magic which applied to the school." Remus answered simply as he began to walk up the stairwell towards the dorms. "So you see, there's no way that this can get out, Siri. Not only will it cause serious trouble for Severus and Lucius, but also for us."

"Wow... that's quite-"

"Unfortunate, I know. I would have loved to see their faces if anyone ever found out." Remus found himself grinning as he looked through his school trunk, finding a fresh change of clothes.

_"Excuse me?"_ Sirius scoffed suddenly, holding a pair of plaid boxers in his hands.

Remus flipped his head up and looked at Sirius over his shoulder. "What?"

"You _want_ to see them humiliated?"

Remus turned around, beginning to unbutton his shirt. "Well of course... I'm not a Marauder simply for name's sake, am I?" He smiled as he threw his shirt to the side. "I dislike them both just as much as the next guy."

"You've definitely changed, Remus." Sirius shook his head, a disbelieving smile on his face as he threw his shirt to the side, beginning work at the buckle on his pants. "The Remus I used to know would have been against seeing them humiliated, he also would have never helped with the prank that lost us 200 House Points."

"Well... I suppose being in love with the man who has everything to do with every prank that goes on at Hogwarts has started to rub off on me." Remus stepped forward, placing a gentle kiss on Sirius' collarbone. "God I love your collarbones... they're so completely gorgeous..." he found himself running a finger over the raised bone, smiling.

Sirius merely shook his head smiling as he took Remus' hand away from his chest. "We need to shower."

"Mmm..." Remus nodded, stepping out of his pants and reaching for his towel.

"So, is that your favorite part of my body?" Sirius asked as he wrapped his towel around his waist, raising his eyebrow.

"Mhm... one of many." Remus said quickly as he began to walk towards the showers with his towel hanging low on his hips.

"What other parts of my body do you like?"

"Hmmm..." Remus held the door to the bathroom open for Sirius, waiting until Sirius was standing infront of a closed door before he answered. "Well... How about I kiss everything I like?"

Sirius warm laughter filled the room. "That's fine with me."

Remus grinned and walked forward. He placed a kiss to Sirius' collarbone, "I like your collarbones the best..." His hands traveled down Sirius' shoulders, finding his hand and placing a light kiss to each one of Sirius' fingers. "Fingers..." Remus looked up and gently kissed Sirius' cheekbone. "Cheekbones..." His lips found Sirius well formed jaw. "Jaw..." Remus extended his tongue and ran it along Sirius neck, shivering openly at the taste of the salty flesh. "Neck..." His breath was hot, as he stood slightly taller. "Lips... Mmm... definitely your lips." He pressed his lips to Sirius again. "Maybe more than your collarbones..."

"...Why?"

"Many reasons."

"Such as?" Sirius smirked, gently running his hands along Remus' back.

"They're full, beautifully shaped," Remus kissed him again. "Warm... and they are the gateway to your fabulous tongue..."

"My tongue?" Sirius hair fell slightly over his eyes as his grin widened slowly.

"My next favorite place..." Remus smirked, leaning forward as he kissed Sirius again on the lips.

Remus wet his own lips slightly before kissing Sirius again. This initial kiss was followed by a few short pecks, slowly growing into something more. Remus ran his tongue slowly against Sirius' bottom lip, enticing Sirius to open his mouth, and, when he did, Remus lips hitched up on one side in a smile before he pressed his chest against Sirius, wrapping his arms around Sirius' neck. He felt Sirius arms tighten around his waist pulling him close. Remus closed his eyes and kissed Sirius again, slowly gliding his tongue over the slight part of Sirius' lips, soon forcing his tongue into Sirius mouth as it opened. Their tongues met in an instant, sending intimate shivers down both their bodies. Remus rolled his tongue against Sirius' gently, leisurely, and tentatively. Withdrawing his tongue from Sirius mouth, Remus opened his mouth and only slightly and allowed his tongue to leave the safety of his mouth to meet Sirius' as he lent forward. Keeping true to his earlier promise, Remus slowly massaged Sirius' tongue with his own, causing his lips to begin to tingle. Remus opened his eyes to watch as Sirius kissed him, his long-ish black bangs falling against his eyes. Being able to see Sirius in such a close proximity caused Remus to smile warmly before closing his eyes again, kissing Sirius closed lips slowly.

"I kept the promise I made to you last night..." Remus spoke against Sirius' lips. "To kiss you like that..."

"...Mmm." Instead of speaking, Sirius made a slight noise deep within his throat, his eyes still closed as he rest his forehead against Remus'. His lips fell slightly open, showering Remus' own lips with warm air.

Remus smiled and closed his eyes. "I miss this too... but I never told you did I?"

"Why did you miss it?"

"For the same reasons you did I would imagine."

Sirius lent back, pulling Remus with him as he did so. He smiled as he looked into Remus' eyes. Though a few moments later, his smile fell. "You really thought about never giving me a second chance, didn't you...?"

Remus took a deep breath and let it out through his nose. "I did." His frown was soon replaced with a warm smile as he looked into Sirius's deep azure eyes. "I needed to know that you truly loved me before I would allow myself to begin to trust you again."

"Do you trust me now?"

Remus lent forward and kissed Sirius lightly on the lips before replying. "Nearly."

Sirius nodded slightly before leaning forward, kissing Remus' neck. "What will it take to make you trust me completely as you used to?"

Remus' answer was a low whisper. "...Time."

Their lips met again in a slow kiss, sealing the unspoken promise.

"I love you so much, Siri..." Remus spoke quietly against Sirius' lips, his forehead resting on Sirius'. "I love you so much it hurts..."

Sirius smiled faintly. "I love you too, Remy."

Remus' breath hitched in a light sob as he laughed gently. Sirius kissed the tear away from his cheek, but did not tell him to stop crying. He would never dare ask Remus to halt the experience of feeling this beautiful emotion known as love.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

This last bit of the chapter here, I cried when I was writing it. How's that for a powerful bit of the story, huh?

Also, I've decided that I'm not going to write on the weekends. I'm going to take my time off and write smut on the weekends instead! _(WOOHOO... SMUT!!!)_ If you'd like to read my smut (and I know you ALL do!) you can find the address to the LiveJournal community in my user info bit (feel free to join the community or friend me if you are a LiveJournal junkie). My username on there is 'teleturtle', so go ahead and leave comments on my and Kylia Nahimana's smut.

That's it for now... till next chapter. (waves and leaves out cookies that she knows Kylia will gobble up within seconds of her review...)


	19. Chapter 19 : Very Light R

The momentary freezing had worn off, and Severus was in a state of complete panic. Lucius was busy taking deep breaths as he caught Snape's shoulders.

"SEVERUS! Stop it! Look at me!"

Severus stopped and looked into Lucius' silver eyes. "What?"

"Listen to me, Severus..." Lucius grabbed onto his jaw and forced him to look at him. "Listen, alright?"

"...Yeah... okay, let go of my jaw."

Lucius dropped his hand and placed it back on Severus' shoulder, squeezing hard. "It's alright, they aren't going to tell anyone."

Severus scoffed and shook his head. "How can you be sure of that Malfoy?"

Lucius' gaze hardened somewhat at the mention of his last name before he continued. "Just trust me, they won't tell anyone."

"Yeah fat load of luck that's going to do us. Trust you? Hah."

"Severus, fucking trust me alright? Shut your damn trap and fucking trust me."

Severus closed his mouth and looked into his lover's eyes. "Fine..."

"Good." Lucius smiled slightly before loosening his grip on Severus' shoulders. "We're fine, alright?"

"Since when have you become the one in control, the one who tells me everything's alright?"

"It's always been that way – and you know it. Just stop trying to act like the better man."

Severus took a deep breath and looked down shaking his head. "This is really bad..."

"It's not. We'll survive." Lucius hand traveled up Severus shoulder, finding his cheek. He spoke softly as he looked into Snape's eyes. "We'll survive."

Snape took a deep breath, smiling softly. "Yeah... I suppose."

"Exactly." Lucius lent forward kissing Severus lightly on the lips. "What did we come here for? Take off your pants."

* * *

"Lily! Christ I look like a bloody dweeb... get this stuff out of my hair!"

"James you have to somehow look nice! We have to send a picture back to my parents... now stop fussing and let me do your hair!" Lily let out an exasperated sigh before reaching up and running her fingers through his hair again. "It's completely impossible, why don't you just shave your head?!" Lily continued to fuss over James' hair, trying to get it to stick down in one direction. So far – it wasn't working. His hair had a mind of it's own it seemed.

Later that afternoon, Sirius and Remus had finally decided to come down to the common room. They had spent the rest of the morning after their shower laying on Sirius' bed – just talking.

"_SIRIUS!_ Get her away from me!"

"Ahh... you're on your own mate, I wouldn't dare interrupt a lady who holds gel in her hands." Sirius laughed as he sat down on the couch, pulling Remus with him to sit on his lap. He smiled before returning his attention to Remus, kissing him multiple times on the lips as his hand found the back of Remus' neck, holding it lightly as his thumb stroked over the skin lightly.

"I'm really glad you two got back together." Lily smiled as she held her hands out slightly.

Sirius and Remus both smiled at Lily before returning their attention to eachother.

Remus kissed Sirius lightly before erupting into a light bought of laugher.

"What?"

"We've officially just became one of those couples who never stops kissing."

Sirius smirked. "I don't mind constantly kissing you." Sirius kissed Remus' neck lightly. "I love the way you taste, thus – I never want to stop kissing you."

Remus moved his neck to the side slowly, allowing Sirius more skin to caress with his lips. "Mmm... careful, Sirius Black..."

"Why must I be careful?" Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus' waist, running his tongue along Remus' neck. "I hate being careful..."

Remus laughed lightly as Sirius lips found his earlobe. "You must be careful because if you keep at this – I'll be in the mood to..._Oh!_" Remus gasped as Sirius' teeth grazed his earlobe. "Mood to help you study..."

"Ooh... In that case, I'm throwing caution to the wind... I could go for a good lesson."

"Mmm..." Remus lent forward and kissed Sirius forehead before shifting off of his lap and settling down next to him, running his fingers along Sirius' knee. "My legs still hurt from this morning."

"What do you mean?" Sirius wrapped his arm around Remus' shoulder, placing his face to Remus' hair, taking in the fresh scent of shampoo and conditioner.

Remus laughed, looking up at Sirius. "I was the one doing all the moving, Siri... You just sat there."

"I did not. I did my part."

"Only once or twice," Remus smirked. "No matter though, I don't mind working up a healthy swe-"

_"GET OFF ME!"_

Lily had pinned James to the ground in an effort to keep him from trying to escape. She sat on his stomach holding him down by the shoulders. _"JAMES! DAMNIT! JUST LET ME DO YOUR HAIR!"_

_"AUGH!"_ James squirmed underneath her and when he found that she was stronger than she looked, he finally gave up and growled up at her as he spoke. "Why do I have to look so nice for them now? They've seen pictures of me before and they didn't seem to care!"

"I just want you to look nice for once!"

James scoffed loudly, pushing Lily off of him. "You don't think I look nice?"

"James that's not what I meant... what I meant was-"

"That I don't look nice enough for you is what you meant. Bloody hell Lily..." James stood up and stalked towards the stairwell. "You're supposed to love me for who I am not what I look like, Evans." With that, he disappeared behind the wall cursing.

Lily sighed loudly as she looked down at her fingers.

Remus pursed his lips together before standing up and taking Sirius hand. He smiled almost apologetically at Lily before turning to leave the Common Room.

"Suppose they've reached the fighting status of a real relationship then." Sirius sighed as he walked towards the stairs, still holding Remus' hand.

"Yeah... But I'm sure it'll blow over soon enough." Remus ran his tongue over his lips. He then reached into his pants pockets and took out a small tube of lip chap.

"What's that?"

"Lip chap... what's it look like?" Remus smiled as he began to put even layers of the substance on his top and bottom lips. "Want some?"

"Don't mind if I do..."

Remus moved to give Sirius the small tube, but was surprised when he felt lips on his own. Sirius had kissed him a few times, leaving his lips to linger on Remus' for a few seconds between each kiss - nearly stealing the entire amount of lip chap from Remus' lips, leaving them feeling slightly dry.

"Mmm... that stuff tingles." Sirius smile was lopsided as Remus glared at him, putting more on his lips.

"You kiss me entirely too much."

"Ahh, but that's the first time you've complained, and only because I stole some of your lip chap." Sirius smiled leaning forward to kiss Remus again, but was stopped when the small tube was held infront of his face. Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the yellow container.

"If you want some... then here." Remus had taken a hold of Sirius chin, holding it steady while he gently spread the substance on his boyfriend's lips. Sirius' eyes traveled down to the tube as he watched it swipe back and forth. "There. Now stop stealing mine."

Sirius rubbed his lips together feeling his lips slicken. "Is it still stealing if we both have it on our lips?"

Remus opened his mouth to speak but found that Sirius was right. So he closed his mouth with a small grunting noise. "...No."

Sirius smiled and took Remus in his arms, dipping him back slightly. "That's what I thought."

Remus' arms were trapped in-between his and Sirius' body, so he just trusted Sirius not to drop him and found himself kissing back with just as much fury.

"Eh-hem..."

Remus and Sirius looked over at the tall, slender blonde woman standing to their right.

"May we help you?" Sirius voice was at an even tone, he still held Remus in a slight dip.

"Yes... I was wondering if you have seen Lucius today?"

Sirius righted his boyfriend's position and crossed his arms. "I have, Narcissa. Why do you ask?"

"Because I haven't been able to find him all morning," She pursed her lips and glared at Sirius. "A woman has the right to know where her boyfriend is, does she not?"

"Boyfriend? Lucius is your boyfriend?" Sirius suddenly burst out into laughter. "Perhaps you should chat about your relationship with him, as he's taken to wan-"

"W-w-wandering about without your knowledge!" Remus interrupted a pleasantly forced smile on his lips. "I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere, Narcissa... sooner or later! See you!"

Once again, Remus found himself pulling Sirius away from a very deadly situation. As he walked briskly in the other direction, he ended up walking straight into two bodies. Remus stumbled back slightly, only to be caught by Sirius.

"Why, hello!" Sirius smiled as he greeted the two people they had just walked into. "Fancy seeing you two together!"

"Sod off Black." Snape growled, and if it were possible – his glare would have shot daggers into Sirius.

"Ahh... I think not!" Sirius smiled proudly as he crossed his arms. "Have a nice romp then?" He turned his attention to Lucius. "Tell me, who's on the bottom?"

Lucius lip curled up into a sneer as one of his eyebrows raised. "That is none of your concern, Black."

"I wouldn't be so terse with me, Malfoy – I know something that can completely damage your reputation. Infact – I know how to do it in one fowl swoop." Sirius smile fell into a deadly smirk as his eyes challenged Lucius'.

"Yes... I highly doubt that, Black." Lucius nearly laughed as he spoke.

Sirius stepped forward, letting his hands fall to his sides. His voice was low and dangerous. "Fancy having your darling girlfriend Narcissa knowing that you wank off with him on the side instead of with her?"

Lucius felt his stomach fall. "You wouldn't dare." He spoke through gritted teeth, his mind going into a state of panic. Maybe they weren't alright after all...

"If you're trying to blackmail us, Gryffindor – it is not going to work." Snape drawled as he lent against the wall crossing his arms and looking at Sirius from under his long, greasy hair.

Sirius laughed suddenly. "You really think you have the upper hand in this situation?" He lent back and continued to laugh, making a point to look into Lucius' eyes. "It hadn't even entered my mind to blackmail you... thank-you for pointing that out Snape. Seems that you really are worth more than being just a sex toy for Malfoy here."

"You little-" Snape had begun to walk forward, only to be stopped by Lucius arm.

"Don't fucking move, Snape." Lucius growled at the greasy boy before returning his attention back to the problem at hand - Sirius. "What do you want to keep quiet?"

"Hmmm..." Sirius thought for a moment. "There's so much that I can ask for, anything you're partial to Remy?"

Remus shook his head slowly, looking at Lucius and Snape. He knew there was nothing he could do at this point that would stop what was happening. Remus ran a hand through his hair as he pursed his lips together.

"Hmm-" Sirius stopped suddenly. "_For now_, give me all the gillyweed that you have on you."

"Gillyweed Sirius? You're kidding me? You can't peddle drugs in the middle of the bloody hallway!" Remus snapped suddenly as he lent close to Sirius.

"It's not a drug, it's a plant... used to breath underwater. It just happens to have some mind altering effects when smoked." Sirius smirked as his attention returned back to Lucius. "Hand it over."

"I don't have any fucking gillyweed."

"Yes you do."

The two stared hard into each other's eyes for a moment before Lucius reached into his cloak and took out a large bag full of buds from a green plant. He threw it at Sirius and shook his head, a sneer found his lips again.

"Fuck you, Black."

"I'd rather leave that up to Remus, thanks..." Sirius smiled tightly as he put the bag of gillyweed into his own cloak pocket. "Blackmail is fun, isn't it?" Sirius smiled as he took Remus' hand and began to walk in the opposite direction. "Nice doing business with you – but believe me... this is far from over, boys."

"Why'd you let him take it?!" Snape yelled at Lucius, his anger rising. "That was worth over-"

"I didn't have a bloody choice alright? Now shut the hell up before I hex you, you fucking git!"

Remus listened as Lucius and Snape bickered with eachother as they turned the corner. He then stopped abruptly and glared at Sirius.

"Drugs, Sirius!"

"Ahh... loosen up, Remy. Its just gillyweed." Sirius threw the accusation aside and placed his hands to Remus' shoulders. "We need to find some paper to roll some joints with..."

"Are you kidding me?" Remus's voice broke slightly as he spoke, shaking his head.

"Not in the least. Now stop acting like a prefect and come with me."

The force that Sirius had begun to drag Remus away with had made Remus nearly fall to the ground before regaining his balance and following his boyfriend at a rapid pace. "Where are you taking me?!"

"To see Regulus."

"Your brother...? Why?"

"Yes, my brother. He's got what we need, that's why."

Remus frowned. "Great... we're going to see your younger brother who has papers stashed away for which we can roll joints with."

"Exactly." Sirius smiled, kissing Remus' cheek. "You're so smart."

"After this, I fear that my brain cells will begin to rapidly decline..."

"What do you mean by that?" Sirius rounded the corner, walking towards the stairs. "You'll only loose brain cells if you smoke it with James, Peter and myself."

Remus smirked silently. "I know."

Sirius turned and laughed. "You're going to smoke up with us?"

Remus shrugged. "Why the hell not. There's a first time for everything. Besides – didn't you tell me that I was going to have more fun this year if it was the last thing I did?"

"Yeah... looks like you've finally gotten that stick out of your ass." Sirius began to pull Remus up the stairs again; still slightly shocked that Remus was actually going to do this.

"Yes... but I think it's a lovely trade in for what else I get stuck up my ass every other day. That stick was rather uncomfortable... it splintered sometimes..."

With that, Sirius broke into a loud eruption of laughter as they finally hit the top of the stairs. Veering off to the right, Sirius knocked on a door, to be greeted by a tall man with dark hair, the same as Sirius.

"What do you want?"

* * *

**Authors Notes:**

Yes, I know that Regulus may be older than Sirius – but hell... this is my story and.... STUFF! So... yes... you'll just have to live with the fact that I made Regulus a 6th year Slytherin in Hogwarts. _Hurrahh!!!_

Thank-you for all the reviews – and please add me to your MSN lists if you wish to, I'd love to talk to more of you. So far – only two people have added me... ALSO!! KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING! (grins evily) Time for my blackmail – If I don't get more than... 10 I'm not posting a new chapter... (looks from side to side) Ehee... Oh it's great fun...

**PS:** I'm also leaving Wednesday night to go to Tracey's house until Saturday, so there may or may not be an update tomorrow. Either way, 10 reviews shall get you a new chapter! :]


	20. Chapter 20 : Hard R

"Let me in for a minute, will you?"

Regulus scoffed. "I don't think so, go away."

"Oh shove off and let me in." Sirius growled as he walked forward slightly, unknowingly still holding onto Remus' hand.

"Who's that? Your boyfriend?"

"Yes... now shove over you arrogant prick."

"Keep talking like that and I won't move." Regulus crossed his arms and lent on the doorframe, ash falling from the smoke trapped between his lips.

Sirius let go of Remus' hand and reached up, snatching the smoke from Regulus' lips. He took a long drag, closing his eyes as he smoke filled his lungs. "Come on baby brother... just move?" Sirius blew the smoke out slowly, some of it filtering out through his nose as he spoke.

"You owe me a smoke." Regulus pushed the door open, allowing Sirius to walk underneath his arm. "He stays out here." He motioned over to Remus with his hand.

"Yeah, he'll stay there..." Sirius held up the smoke and looked at it. "God how I've missed you..." He took another long drag of the smoke and disappeared behind the closed door.

Regulus lent against the closed door and crossed his arms. "What do you want, then?"

"I need papers." Sirius lent over and picked up a package of unopened smokes. "And these."

"It's going to cost you."

Sirius stuffed the smokes in his pocket. "Done. How much do you want?"

Regulus pushed himself off the door and strode towards Sirius. "20 grams."

"20? How about 15?"

"Depends on the quality." Regulus walked towards his beside table, taking out a small package of papers, fiddling with the package between his fingers.

Sirius reached into his cloak and took out the bag containing the gillyweed. He threw it over at his brother and smirked as he took a drag of his smoke. He pointed at him with his index and middle fingers – the ones clutching the smoke. "You tell me. It came from Malfoy – so it won't be complete shit quality."

"...Malfoy?"

Sirius nodded, sitting down on the armrest of the couch in Regulus' room. Sirius had been offered his own private room as well, as he came from a very wealthy family – but had declined. "He grows it himself."

Regulus opened the bag and took a sniff of the plant. "Yeah... how'd you know?"

Sirius shrugged, ashing his cigarette into the small tray beside the couch on the side table. "He's a Malfoy. They don't settle for less than the best. You don't think he'd honestly buy it off of someone do you?" He took a last drag of his smoke before putting it out. "That, and you just told me."

Regulus smiled as he turned around, weighing out 15 grams of the plant onto a small tray, using magic to test for the weight. "You should have been sorted into Slytherin."

Sirius scoffed as he walked up beside his brother, watching him closely to make sure he didn't take more that 15 grams. "What makes you say that?" He crossed his arms and stared his brother hard in the eye as he straightened, handing the bag over to Sirius.

"Cuz your one sly asshole, that's why."

Sirius took the bag and shoved it back into his pocket holding his hand out. "Why thank-you, but I happen to like the house I'm in. Now hand over the papers please." Sirius swayed slightly as he felt the nicotine pump through his blood. This was a feeling that he had sorely missed. The first nicotine rush in the morning was always something that Sirius had enjoyed. Your body started to tingle all over, and your head felt slightly heavy. It was almost a comforting feeling to him.

"Ever the bloody gentleman, aren't you?" Regulus threw the papers at him shaking his head.

"I am a Gryffindor." Sirius smiled brightly before heading towards the door. "Thanks for the papers and smokes."

"Yeah. See you later then."

"Mmm... later." Sirius was about to reach for the doorknob when he heard Regulus speak again, causing him to turn around. He stopped at a side table, and picked up a small studded collar and snapped it on around his neck. He also picked up a few black rubber bracelets and put them on as well. Sirius didn't really know why his collar and bracelets where in his brother's room, but didn't ask why either.

"Hey... um... congratulations."

Sirius shook his head, laughing. "What for? Skiming drugs off of Malfoy?"

"Nah... well... yeah... but what I meant was congrats for finding someone who'll willingly put up with you."

"Thanks." Sirius lightly slapped his brother on the cheek a couple times. "See you then... and PS: Stop taking my fucking jewelry. I've been looking for these ever since September."

Regulus laughed and nodded. "Yeah, yeah."

Sirius had closed the door just after hearing his brother's response and smiled when he greeted Remus. "Thanks for waiting."

Remus frowned. "I didn't know you smoked."

"Yeah... um... about that..." Sirius smiled quickly before continuing. "I used to smoke heavily, until my mum found out and forced me to cut down at the very least."

"When did she find out?"

"Last year."

Remus crossed his arms. "How's that possible... I was with you almost all the time... how could you have been a heavy smoker? I would have noticed."

"I'd use a charm to get rid of the smell, Rem." Sirius smirked as he took Remus' hand walking out of the direction of Regulus' room. "Besides... I havn't smoked for a while."

"Then why'd you take a pack from his room?"

Sirius shrugged loosely. "I dunno. Just wanted to?"

"...Oh."

"It doesn't bug you that I smoke, does it?"

"Er... well not really..."

"Okay, but it does bugs you that I didn't tell you that I smoked – am I right?"

"...Yeah." Remus smiled shyly as he looked away. Sirius had a talent for finding out the truth behind most of Remus' actions – even when he had done his best to hide the truth from his boyfriend.

Sirius smiled and kissed Remus' temple. "Well I won't ever smoke and then kiss you – so you'll never have to taste an ashtray."

"Yeah, alright." Remus smiled up at Sirius and skipped down one flight of stairs before turning to go to the Gryffindor common room. "Think James is in there?"

"Yep. He would have made up with Lily by now." Sirius smiled at the Fat Lady before stepping into the room. Leaning down, Sirius spoke into Remus' ear. "See?"

James was sitting on the couch, running his hands through Lily's hair, placing tentative slow kisses on her lips. Lily smiled when Remus and Sirius appeared infront of them. She kissed James one last time before hopping off of his lap and hurrying upstairs saying that she had to shower.

"You're whipped." Sirius smirked as he sat down beside James, stretching out slightly as his arms stretched back resting behind his head.

"No more than you."

Sirius nodded. "True enough, Prongsie... true enough."

"So what brings you here?" James yawned slightly before crossing his legs, knee to shin.

"Tell you in a minute... is Peter here?" Sirius asked quietly before sitting right up again, resting his elbows on his knees.

"You didn't even notice me? I was sitting right here the whole time." Peter called out from the table, closing one of his schoolbooks. "That really makes me feel rather rejected, you know."

"Ahh I didn't mean anything by it Peter, you just tend you blend in sometimes, you know?"

Peter had stood up, stretched, and was now lazily walking towards Sirius, Remus, and James. "What's on your mind then?"

Sirius reached into his pocket and took out the bag of gillyweed. "This is on my mind."

James eyed it apprehensively. "Where'd you get it?"

Sirius shrugged and put it back into his jacket. "Regulus." He smiled over at Peter. "Sold it for me for cheap."

"Well then it's going to taste like crap, Sirius." Peter sighed as he sat down, running a hand through his thick hair. "Anything Regulus sells you is complete crap and you know it."

"Yeah, and you havn't got any zags anyway." James pointed out, running a hand through his damp hair.

With a quick flick of his wrist, Sirius pulled out a small package of zigzags. "Sure I do." He smiled impishly as he placed them back into his pocket. "I'm always prepared for gillyweed gentlemen, you should have known that by now."

James smiled brightly, as did Peter. "My first love!"

"Naturally." Sirius smirked at James as he lay back slightly, crossing his legs.

"Well then lets get going." Peter offered as he stood up. "Astronomy tower as usual then?"

"I... what about-" James looked over at Remus.

"Remus? Yes, what about me?" Remus stood up and smiled. "I'll be playing the part of joint smoker tonight, not prefect – thank-you."

"You're serious? You can't really want to smoke up with us?" James laughed suddenly; this was nothing like the Remus he used to know. The old Remus would have scolded them profusely for even being in possession of gillyweed.

"Yes I'm serious. Now lets go before it gets too cold out." Remus was already on his way to get his jacket.

James looked over at Sirius who just winked and stood, holding out a hand. "Going to join us, Prongsie? Or are you going to be the wet blanket this time?"

"Hell yes I'm joining you." James grabbed Sirius hand and stood. He smiled widely at Sirius. "What a way to ring in the New Year, eh?"

"Definitely." Sirius answered before be walked towards the coat rack, taking his own coat down and putting it on.

Soon enough, the Marauders had made their way down to the entrance of the school. They were all talking quite loud in the process – happily chatting about various things from exploding snaps to dungbombs. This of course, meaning that James and Sirius were the ones dominating the conversation, while Peter and Remus were merely standing back, taking to eachother. Within a few minutes, the boys had made it to the astrology tower, and were walking up the stairs. Sirius stopped at the second floor, walking towards a door.

"What're you doing?"

Sirius looked back at Remus, smiling. "Going to our private room of course." He muttered a password and the door flung open to reveal a large room.

"Aye, this is the place Sirius used to take his girlfriends to shag them." Peter laughed as he passed through the door. "Mind you, that hasn't happened since 4th year."

"He had sex before 4th year?" Remus shouldered off his jacket, laying it on a chair.

"Oh well of course, he lost his virginity mid 3rd year." James walked towards a window, and cracked it open – allowing the cool winter breeze to pass through the room.

"You lost your virginity when you were 14?!"

Sirius turned to look at Remus. "Er... yeah..." He lent forward kissing Remus' cheek. "Sorry I never told you."

Remus was completely shocked. This meant that all those stories of 'Sirius Black: Resident Sex God' were true. He really had gotten around a lot during his years at Hogwarts. Remus shock soon dissolved into a laugh. "You, Sirius Black, are a slut."

Peter and James had laughed when Sirius bowed down dramatically infront of Remus. His long arm sweeping to the side as his bangs fell across his face. He shook his head to the side slightly, causing them to fall out of his eyes. "That I am."

Remus grabbed onto Sirius' shirtfront, pulling him forward. He lowered his voice so that only Sirius would hear him. "I'm sleeping with a slut."

"And you enjoy it," Sirius smirked, kissing Remus hard on the lips. "How does it feel to be the exclusive person who gets to fuck the resident Hogwarts Sex God?"

Remus grinded his hips slightly against Sirius' and grinned as he looked up into Sirius eyes over his bangs. "Very, very good."

At that Sirius lent forward and kissed Remus again on the lips. The kiss had escalated into frenching by the time James had intervened by standing beside them tapping Sirius shoulder.

"Gillyweed. Roll it. Now." He paused before turning back. "You can fuck Remus later, after we're high."

Sirius laughed as he reached into his cloak, taking out the bag of gillyweed. He let go of Remus after one last kiss and settled himself infront of the small coffee table, which was sitting infront of a couch. Kneeling infront of it, Sirius opened the bag and plopped it down on the table. He then reached into his cloak pocket and took out the zigzags. "Anyone got a piece of paper?"

James had already grabbed a sheet of paper from under the couch and was setting it down infront of his friend. "Always. Here you go."

"Thanks." Sirius smiled as he took out one of the bundles of gillyweed out of the bag and began to crumple the dry plant between his fingers onto the page. "How many am I making?"

"One for me." Peter chirped immediately, followed by James.

"Same here."

"Alright... Rem – want to share one then?" Sirius looked sideways at Remus quickly before beginning to crumple the plant again.

"Er... yeah, sure."

"Good stuff..." Sirius had crumpled enough of the plant that he could make one joint. He then reached into his pocket retrieving his smokes. No one else seemed to look surprised that he was holding a package of cigarettes. Sirius tore the wrapping off and took out a smoke. He ran it past his nose quickly before tearing it open and spreading the tobacco onto the gillyweed.

"What're you doing?" Remus watched as Sirius sprinkled the tobacco.

"Mixing it with tobacco... it burns a lot better that way." Sirius didn't look up from the joint, but did smile when he spoke. He then picked up the zigzags and took out one of the frail sheets. He placed it on the table, and grabbed each side of the paper the gillyweed was on, making sort of a tent shape with the green plant at the bottom. Carefully placing it all on the zigzag, Sirius rolled it together and licked the paper in order to keep it shut. He tore off a little piece of paper and rolled that up aswell, lightly stuffing it into one end of the rolled joint.

"Why're you doing that?"

Sirius looked up at Remus and smiled. "Making a filter."

"Why?"

"Because it stops most of the little particles of gillyweed from entering your lungs. That, and the end of the joint gets soggy... so this kind of acts like something to keep it open so you can still smoke it till the very end without having it die on you because the saliva puts out the flame."

"...Oh."

Sirius smiled and lent over, kissing Remus underneath his jaw. He then handed the joint over to Peter. "You'll wait until all of them are rolled until you get to start."

"Ahh... that's not fair."

"Sure it is." Sirius smiled as he started to repeat the same process, making a joint for James.

"Why don't you let us make our own joints, Sirius?"

"Well... simply because it's always my gillyweed we smoke, and because I can make them faster than you can?" Sirius smiled up at James as he sprinkled tobacco on his joint.

"...Right, good point."

Sirius nodded and licked the paper, sealing it shut. He then made the filter and handed it over to James who immediately – like Peter, had begun to blow on the paper to dry it slightly. A few minutes later, Sirius had made his own joint and reached into his jeans to retrieve his lighter.

"Alright, everyone lean in,"

Everyone did as they were told, joints in their mouths. Sirius struck the lighter and they all lent into the flame, lighting all their joints at once. Sirius held the smoke in his lungs as he put the lighter back into his pocket.

"Happy New Year indeed..." James took a few puffs of the joint, holding it in his lungs for a few moments before blowing it out.

"Here..." Sirius passed the joint over to Remus with a smile on his lips. "Or shall I hold I hold it for you?" With a great amount of ease, Sirius turned the joint around, so that the filter was facing Remus.

"Er... okay..."

Remus lent forward and took a long drag on the joint, holding it in his lungs as he had seen his friends do. It was just as well that he hadn't taken the joint into his own fingers, as he would have dropped it anyway because his hands were shaking. He let out the breath and coughed. Sirius smiled and inhaled again.

"That happens the first time." He blew out a smoke ring and lent back, looking at the embers at the tip of the joint.

"So... err... what should I expect to happen to me?" Remus asked quietly, making sure that neither Peter nor James would hear him - though it wouldn't have mattered if they did hear him, because they were both laughing with eachother.

Sirius handed the smoking joint over to Remus, watching as he took another drag. "Well... every high is different than the last. But what usually happens to me is that my mind starts to feel like it's spinning a bit – then I can feel my heart beating in my throat. Soon enough I end up sitting quietly and staring at something, kinda blocking everything out because I'm so aware of everything that's happening in my body and around me." He ashed the joint and took another long drag before continuing. "Then it feels like I'm spinning even more and everything is funny. That's when we hit the giggles." He motioned over to James and Peter who had launched into a verse of a song. "That's where they are. I'd expect."

"Oh... should my ears be ringing?"

Sirius laughed as he handed the joint to his boyfriend. "Yeah, 's called the spins. Happened to me the first time I got high too. I remember wishing so bad that it would stop... But it feels like your body's spinning really quick in one direction right?"

"...Yeah."

Sirius smirked. "Think that's odd? Try to move your arms."

Remus did as he was told and started laughing as soon as he raised his arms. "It feels like I'm in really thick water..."

"Water isn't thick thou, Rem."

"Ahh... but... Jello then? Maybe jello..." Remus smiled as he fell down beside Sirius, resting his head on his shoulder.

Sirius put out the joint and smiled. "Anyways... after the giggles pass, and they never really do pass for James or Peter... they laugh for hours if you'd let them." He smirked as he looked over at Peter, who was doubled over holding his stomach in laughter. "Right... anyway... after that – my body becomes really sensitive. I don't know why, but it's like every touch is heightened 10 fold."

"Really? What's it feel like?"

"Touch your lips." Sirius shifted his position as Remus stood up. He watched as Remus ran his finger along his lips.

"Wow..." Remus did it again smiling. "It feels like a shock of... er... something went straight to my dick."

Sirius threw his head back and laughed. Remus soon joined in, after he had realized the vulgarity of that sentence. Remus lay in Sirius arms for a moment before looking up into Sirius eyes.

Remus smiled gently as he spoke. "Your eyes are all droopy..."

"Yeah? Yours too." Sirius smiled, running a hand through Remus' hair.

Remus fell into the touch and lent forward, kissing Sirius' lips. They spent the next few minutes just lightly brushing their lips together, enjoying the sensations that wracked through their bodies.

"Hey, listen... if you two are going to fuck, at least go to the bed," James sniggered as he scratched his arm. "And if you're going to fuck, pull the curtains closed and put a silencing spell on the damn bed..."

Sirius raised his eyebrow and smiled as he looked towards his boyfriend. Remus was already one step ahead of him, laughing as he pulled Sirius to the bed.

"You're not really going to... err... with us here?" Peter sat up and frowned.

"Well... it's either you stay and watch as the bed moves – or you leave. Pick one." Sirius smiled as he pulled the curtains of the bed closed.

"Aw Jesus... you're... I'm taking some gillyweed with me then. Come on Peter." James stood up and stumbled a bit, taking one of the sprouts of gillyweed and a few zips with him as he and Peter both left the room, locking the door behind them.

Remus had already rid Sirius of his shirt by the time Sirius had turned around. He was trailing kisses all around Sirius torso, pausing slightly at his nipples to tease them with his tongue. Sirius groaned as his fingers found Remus' shirt.

"Twice in one day..." Remus smiled as Sirius dropped the shirt. He lent forward and wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck, kissing him hard before speaking again. "This time, you're doing all the work, and I'll only help out a couple times..."

"Yeah? Then take off your pants and lay down."

Remus did as he was told and lay down naked infront of the man in front of him. Sirius' eyes roamed over his chest, his eyes tracing every faint scar. He hated that Remus' beautiful body was covered in all these blemishes, but never the less – Remus was still unbelievably attractive to him. Sirius bent forward and ran his hands down Remus' neck, and down his torso. When his hands had left the just touched skin – his lips took over. Sirius trailed kisses all down Remus' torso, smiling as he arched his back and moaned to the touch.

"I havn't given you a blowjob since the shower, do you realize that?" Sirius smiled as he licked Remus' navel.

"Is that what you're going to..." He broke off mid sentence as he felt Sirius hands wrap around his already half hard erection.

"No one should be high for the first time without receiving a blowjob," Sirius stated simply as he wrapped his lips around the tip of Remus' penis.

"Ah God..." Remus arched his back and groaned as his fingers twirled into the sheets of the bed, gripping them tightly. Then an odd thought had struck him – when was the last time these sheets were cleaned...?

"Just last week, Rem." Sirius said quickly before returning his attention to Remus' penis.

"Oh... Okay..."

"Mmmhm..." Sirius' spoke without lifting his lips from his current distraction. The response vibrated throughout Remus' body as he moaned loudly.

"Ah _GOD_... God.... Do that again..."

Sirius smirked and hummed lightly before extending his tongue and licking the length of Remus' penis. He began to lightly fondle Remus' sac with his fingers as he dragged his tongue back up to the tip. Remus began to thrust his hips upward into Sirius mouth – something he had never done before. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so, so...

"AUUH!!! OH GOD!" Remus moaned loudly, thrusting up again. "JESUS FUCKING..." The last word was drowned out with a rather loud scream.

Sirius had begun to tickle his tongue over the head of Remus' penis, sending shockwaves of pleasure surging through his body. Stimulating every follicle of hair, and every inch of skin. Sirius had decided to try to...

Remus panted as he watched the length of his penis disappear in to Sirius' mouth.

"Jesus..." Remus breathed out slowly watching as Sirius continued to deep throat him. Seconds later, Remus felt cold air surround his dick, and a warm mouth press over the top, teasing the sensitive flesh. "Oh God... I love you, I love you..." Remus panted heavily as he thrust upwards, deeper into Sirius mouth. "...God I love you..."

Remus felt Sirius laugh as he continued to work his tongue around the tip of his boyfriend's penis, lapping up the pre-cum that seemed to be never ending. Remus had begun to thrash around on the bed, careful not to move too much or he would have knocked Sirius clean off the bed by now.

The simple fact that Remus' mouth hung open, and he had arched his back and kept it arched for the past few seconds, told Sirius he was close to coming. He suspected right, as a few seconds later; jets of warm, sticky liquid entered his mouth. Sirius had swallowed everything he could – enjoying the sweet taste.

Sirius licked his lips and wiped his chin lightly before trailing kisses up Remus' flat, sweat slicked abdomen, soon stopping at his neck. "That tasted different than before..."

"...W-wha...?"

"It tasted quite," Sirius kissed Remus' neck. "sweet. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

"Oh... I..." Remus stopped for a moment, catching his breath. "I've been eating a lot of chocolate..."

"Mmm... that'll be it." Sirius ground his hips against Remus', his erection aching to be released.

"That... thank –you..."

"We're not finished, yet, Moony. Not by a long shot."

"What? What do you-"

"Get on your knees, elbows down." Sirius whispered into his ear. "You got yours, now I'll get mine."

Remus laughed slightly before kissing Sirius hotly, tasting himself on Sirius' tongue. He really did taste oddly sweet...

Remus then shifted onto his knees, resting his cheek on the blankets, still panting. He listened as Sirius threw his pants to the side. Remus' body shifted as Sirius moved up behind him. He placed a warm hand to the small of Remus' back, slowly running it up his spine and back again. Sirius lent forward, whispering close to Remus' ear.

"One finger... two fingers..." He smiled when Remus moved back on his hand, moaning slightly. "Three..." Sirius scissored his fingers and withdrew them. Without due warning, he pushed into Remus, only pausing after he had gotten the tip of his dick inside Remus. He delighted when Remus cried out. Sirius waited only a few moments more when Remus had nodded that he pushed in further. Sirius lent over and let spit fall down to his dick, and spread it around. After he had gotten his dick fully inside Remus, he nearly pulled it entirely out before thrusting into him again.

Remus groaned into the pillow as Sirius' hands gripped his hips, holding him steady as he thrust in and out of him.

"Oh God..." Remus reached up and held onto Sirius' thigh as he thrust, holding on tight as his penis brushed past his prostate. "fuck yes... God... harder...Ooohh..." Remus moaned loudly, his fingers digging into Sirius' thigh.

Sirius smirked as he watched Remus move back to meet one of his thrusts, and obeyed the orders thrown at him though moans. He thrust hard into Remus, leaning over as he did so. Remus had let go of his leg and was now gripping on to the sheets – his knuckles slowly turning white. Sirius slid his hand down the underside of Remus' belly, slowly moving towards his dick. He gripped the head between his fingers and brushed his thumb over the top of it, soon slicked with pre-cum.

The effects of the gillyweed had not worn off, and apparently – for Remus, the drug caused him to say what he really wanted to, taking Sirius completely off guard when he spoke next. "Fuck yes... _Ooh god_... yeah..." He moaned loudly into the sheets. "That's it... fuck me harder Siri..."

Sirius paused slightly at the bluntness of what Remus had said. Suddenly – he didn't think that he was so slutty anymore.

"If you stop... God help me..." Remus panted as he moaned into the sheets as Sirius began to thrust into him, deeper than before.

Sirius let out a groan of his own as he thrust again, feeling Remus meet his movement. The two had met the thrusts at the same time, causing Remus to now scream out various curses and moans.

"Jesus Christ you're so loud..."

Remus laughed into the pillow. "Only because you're so fucking good..."

Sirius lent over, still thrusting into Remus. He began to kiss Remus' shoulder, licking the sweat away. "Mmm... you taste so good..." he breathed hard into Remus' skin, nibbling at the back of his ear.

Remus groaned and thrust his hips up as he met another thrust. He felt the pressure in his abdomen build as Sirius thumb kept stroking the top of his penis, moving around gently and stimulating only the head. Sirius had stayed lent over, his breath falling hot on Remus' neck. With a few more thrusts, Sirius felt himself climax deep inside of Remus. He let out a low groan into Remus' ear as he kept thrusting until the warm jets of liquid stopped flowing. Remus reached down and began to stroke his own hand over his penis – the first time he had ever touched himself – and came only a few minutes later.

Sirius withdrew from Remus and lay down beside him panting, one hand resting on his chest, the other resting across his eyes. Remus giggled slightly as he turned to lay beside his boyfriend. He twined his leg over Sirius and his arm over his torso. Sirius' arm came down and around Remus' shoulder, holding him close.

"Do you think there's a chance that anyone... heard...?"

"Well they wouldn't have heard me over your screaming, that's for sure." Sirius laughed slightly as Remus' cheeks filled with yet even more blood because of embarrassment.

"I... err... I didn't think I was going to be so..."

"Yeah, well... I didn't mind." Sirius brushed a few wet hairs away from Remus' forehead, kissing the damp skin.

Remus smiled and snuggled closer to Sirius, not bothering to get a blanket – as they were all slicked with sweat and cum anyway. He just lay in Sirius' arms; listening to his heart beat even out. "I definitely want to get high again if it leads to that..."

"Is that a promise?"

Remus propped himself up on his elbow, leaning forward as Sirius' hand curled around his neck. "It's a promise." He kissed Sirius gently and fell back into his arms, completely exhausted.

"Hey Rem?"

"Hhm?"

"I love you..."

Remus smiled against his chest and pulled him closer. "I love you too."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

WOW!!!! Twice in one day... those young boys have quite the stamina, eh? WOO! Sex is so fun to write. Silly vocal Remus.

That's... pretty much it for all I want to say. For now... I need sleep.. xx...

I know it wasn't 10 comments, but hell... I've got tons of comments... (That doesn't mean that I want you to stop commenting, _COMMENT TILL YOU CAN'T COMMENT ANYMORE BECAUSE I'VE GOT TOO MANY COMMENTS!!!!!_!) Err... Right... O.o... I'm done.

(leaves out cookies for Kylia when she reads this)


	21. Chapter 21

Sirius had quickly fallen asleep seconds after the two had spoken last. Remus had only fallen asleep for a few minutes – and woke up feeling completely refreshed, if not for being a little hungry. He had decided to simply lie beside Sirius, and watch his lover sleep. As he watched, a smile formed across Remus' gentle features.

Sirius had his hand lying on his stomach, rising softly with every intake of air. His bangs were lying across his eyes; causing his eyelashes to flutter each time they stimulated the small hairs. Remus reached over and brushed the straight black hair away from his eyes; Sirius smiled in his sleep and shifted his position, curing up next to Remus; his stomach facing him. Remus felt his own stomach flutter as Sirius smiled, snaking closer to him slowly. Propping himself up on his elbow, Remus watched as Sirius' mouth opened and shut a little, taking in a breath. Remus wanted nothing more than to run his fingers along the soft skin of Sirius' side, so he lay down facing him instead, allowing their knees to touch as he folded his hands underneath his own head.

Remus traced the outline of Sirius long thin-ish nose with his eyes, smiling when his eyes found the tip of it – which was slightly turned up. The bridge of his nose was flat, soon giving way to a small bulb of evenly shaped flesh above his nose. Eyes traveled to Sirius' lips, and at this point – Remus could no longer resist touching him. He ran a light finger along his lover's full bottom lip, and then the top – which wasn't thin, but wasn't completely full either. Sirius stirred only slightly and smiled at the touch, not moving his position but making a small noise that sounded like a purr. Remus laughed slightly, putting his hand underneath his head again. Sirius' cheekbones were well sculpted and raised slightly, causing a slight indent in his cheeks. His skin was completely flawless and soft as a baby, a few freckles dotted along his nose and cheeks, only noticeable if you were to look closely at him.

Without warning, Sirius opened his eyes. His long black eyelashes fluttered slightly at the close distance of the other boy but soon adjusted. Sirius lips curved into a pleasant smile as he brought up his hand, lightly stroking Remus' cheek with the back of his fingers. He then closed his eyes and lent forward, placing a gentle kiss to Remus' forehead, and then returning to his original position. Remus smiled at him gently and moved to twine his fingers with Sirius'.

"...Hi."

Sirius smiled gently again. "Hi."

Remus smiled wider and bent his forehead to rest it against Sirius', closing his eyes. He felt Sirius slightly cool breath falling lightly on his face only causing him to snake closer, fitting his knee in-between Sirius'. Sirius gladly moved and draped his arm over Remus' side, pulling him close so that Remus' chest was against his and his head was under his chin.

"Siri?"

"Hmm?"

"You're completely breathtaking."

Sirius chest rumbled slightly at the compliment. "Thank-you."

Remus buried his head deeper into Sirius's chest and smiled wide. Sirius took a deep breath, feeling lips caress his skin lightly. The two lay together in silence for a while until Sirius had begun to sing softly into Remus' hair.

"It's just you and me, on my island of hope, a breath between us could be miles, let me surround you, my sea to your shore, let me be the calm you seek..."

"What's that from...?"

Sirius brought his hand up to lightly run it through Remus' hair. "I don't know. I just picked it up somewhere."

Remus laid back and propped himself up on his pillow, and looked into Sirius' eyes. "I've learned so much about you that I didn't know before..."

Sirius blinked and brushed his bangs out of his eyes attempting to tuck them behind his ear, only to have them fall back over his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I found out that you smoke, you wear this jewelry," Remus ran his finger along the studded collar. "and that you sing."

"Well I don't sing that often." Sirius took Remus' hand in his, and kissed his fingers. Remus watched as Sirius closed his eyes and placed a kiss to each of his fingers before turning it over and kissing the scar on the palm of his hand. Remus bit his bottom lip as Sirius looked up at him. "Why do you chew your lips so often?"

"I... what? I don't chew my lips."

Sirius smiled from the corner of his mouth. "Yeah you do." He ran a finger along Remus' bottom lip. "Look, here's the tooth indent, and it's also slightly wet."

Remus quickly ran his finger along the same place Sirius had. "Oh..." he blushed slightly. "I guess it's a nervous habit."

"What do you have to be nervous about when you're laying with me?"

Remus smiled and looked down. "You."

"...Me?"

"Yeah..."

"Why do I make you nervous?"

Remus sighed and flopped onto his back, resting his hand on his stomach and tracing one of the light scars that ran from his bellybutton to half way up his abdomen. "I always worry about how you see me." He smiled nervously. "I want to look my best for you all the time... I dunno... it's complicated really. It's just something stupid that I've done ever since I was a child."

Sirius placed his hand on Remus' to stop the movement. "You don't need to worry anymore..." He lent over and kissed Remus shoulder gently before propping himself up on his elbow and looking down at his boyfriend. "You're beautiful to me all the time. Every inch of your body is amazingly beautiful – scars and all." Remus smiled as Sirius bent over, kissing him gently. "Never worry about what I think you look like. No matter what stupid face you make, or way you hold yourself when you're standing, or even how you look after you've sneezed. None of that will ever change the way I think of you. You'll always be completely perfect in my eyes."

"...Thank-you." Remus smiled and lent up, meeting Sirius' lips. "It's amazing how much you've changed since the beginning of this year."

"Mmm... what do you mean?"

Remus sat up and crossed his legs, facing Sirius. "Well you used to be... a bit immature," Sirius raised his eyebrows slightly and nodded. "And now you don't act like a kid anymore..."

"So you mean I act more like you now?"

Remus laughed. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"I'm not the only one whose changed... you've taken a more drastic personality change than I have, dear Remy." Sirius continued when Remus raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side. "You're direct, confident in who you are, and that display about two hours ago... you'd never do that before even if you were high."

"Shut-up!" Remus smacked him with a pillow and pinned him to the bed. "You enjoyed it, admit it!"

Sirius smiled when Remus' hair fell over his eyes. He reached up and brushed it away, slowly wrapping his fingers around Remus' neck pulling him down, "Yeah... I did."

Remus allowed himself to be pulled down into a gentle kiss, repeating the kisses a few times. Remus had decided that when Sirius wrapped his fingers around his neck that it was a sort of 'claiming' process. It didn't really matter to him that Sirius held his neck when they kissed, if anything – he enjoyed it more when he held him there. It made Remus feel as if he really belonged to someone, completely and wholly belonged to someone. After Remus had ended the kiss, he got up and opened the curtains to the bed, then walked over to the couch to retrieve the maroon colored blanket that was resting on top of it. He then spread the blanket over himself and Sirius, and cuddled close to his lover – resting his head on Sirius shoulder, twining his legs in-between Sirius.

"Can I ask you something?"

"...Sure."

Remus shifted slightly, placing his palm to Sirius' peck muscle. "Who was she? The one you lost your virginity to?"

Sirius took a deep breath and kissed the crown of Remus' head before answering. "Alice Rowan. She was a 5th year Ravenclaw."

"What did she look like...?"

"She had black hair, and really bright green eyes."

"Is that all you can remember?" Remus laughed into Sirius chest as he pulled the blanket up around his shoulder.

"Well of course not! What do you want, every single detail?"

Remus continued to laugh. "Sure!"

"Alright then... She had the most amazing tits, they were so full and gorgeous oh, and her legs – they never ended. When she wrapped them around my body I just completely melted. And WOW her skin was so soft and her-"

"Ahh!! That's enough!" Remus giggled into Sirius's chest as Sirius pulled him close.

"Well you wanted details."

"Yeahhh... I suppose I deserved that."

Neither boys had noticed that James and Peter had entered the room. James walked up to the bed and was about to pull the blanket off of them when he realized – their clothes were laying about the room. He thought against it and shouted instead.

"OI!"

Sirius quickly sat up and brought Remus with him. The blanket had fallen from their shoulders exposing their chests. Remus blushed furiously, but didn't cover himself either.

"Hey James!" Sirius smiled brightly at his friend. "What's up?"

"Ahh... Not much. Want your clothes then?" James quirked an eyebrow and looked at Remus smiling.

"Yes... please." Remus managed to sputter out as he reached for his pants and took them from James' hands. "Thank-you."

"Yeah, not a problem. Here you go Pads." James threw Sirius his pants and turned as they dressed. "Suppose you did take my advice after all..."

"Er... yeah..." Remus smiled shyly as he pulled his t-shirt on. "We kinda did..."

"Mhm..." Peter flopped down on the couch and crossed his legs towards the bed. "We heard you, Remus. Jesus you're loud."

Remus' hands flew to his mouth and his face went completely red. Sirius narrowed his eyes at Peter before taking Remus in his arms. Remus bowed into Sirius' chest and shook his head.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god... they heard me... oh god... kill me now..."

"Ah come on, Remus – it wasn't that loud..." James smiled as he shrugged his shoulders a little, trying to convince Remus otherwise.

"How far away were you?" Sirius asked quietly as he ran his hand through Remus' hair trying to calm him down.

"Err..."

"Jesus Christ!" Remus turned to look at Peter and James. "You were halfway back to the school weren't you?!"

"...No. We were sitting on the stairs..." James recoiled a bit as he answered.

The color fell from Remus' face. "Oh god... I think I'm going to be sick..."

Remus pushed away from Sirius and ran towards the wastebasket next to the beside table. The three friends all turned and made a face as they heard Remus throw up.

"Ohh... that's rich..." James ran a hand through his hair and sat down on the ground, plugging his ears.

"Shit!" Sirius followed Remus to the wastebasket and rubbed his back as he continued to throw up. "James you asshole!"

"What?! I didn't mean to... I tripped-"

"Over your own foot." Peter supplied for him, laughing slightly.

James threw Peter a glare and returned his attention to Sirius. "I tripped and fell down the stairs... and since I was in too much pain to stand up and leave-"

"We decided to roll another joint and sit there, waiting until you had finished." Peter smiled widely as he ducked an incoming pillow.

Remus had stopped throwing up, and was now shaking his head. Sirius whispered into his ear to make sure he was okay, and when Remus nodded, he stood and advanced on James and Peter.

"You tripped on your own feet, fell down the stairs, and sat at the bottom of the stairs, listening to Remus and I... err... and then you rolled another joint?"

"...Pretty much." James sighed, and scratched his head.

"Why in God's name would you sit there and listen to us?! What's wrong with you?!" Sirius nearly screamed at them, causing James and Peter to recoil again.

"I'm sorry, mate... but my legs wouldn't work... we plugged our ears... I swear!" James held up his arms in defeat as he looked over at Remus who was now standing. "I'm really sorry, Rem..."

"...Uh-huh... It's fine..." Remus wiped his mouth slightly before sitting down on the side of the bed, his head in his hands. "Could you guys just... leave...?"

James and Peter both bowed their heads as they both stood, clearly ashamed of their actions.

"Yeah." Peter turned to the door and walked through it, waiting for James on the other side.

"I'm really am sorry..." James smiled nervously as he shut the door, locking it behind him.

Sirius didn't move until he heard the tower door close and footsteps out in the snow. He then walked towards Remus and kneeled infront of him, taking his hands away from his face – twining them with his own.

"You okay, Rem?"

Remus pulled Sirius up and lay down, allowing Sirius to rest on top of his body. "Yeah... I guess."

Sirius propped his head on the palm of his hand, the other hand on Remus's chest. "Well they aren't going to tell anyone... I can promise you that."

"Mhm..." Remus closed his eyes and groaned, his eyebrows furrowing. "That was so embarrassing..."

Sirius laughed gently before laying down, his head on Remus' shoulder. "Well it can't get any worse than it has."

"I suppose so..." Remus began to run his fingers up and down Sirius' naked back slowly, tickling the fair skin.

Sighing, Sirius spoke after a long pause in the conversation. "I've been thinking about getting something pierced."

"Such as?"

"I dunno..." Sirius propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at Remus. "My tongue... or nipple. Maybe a navel piercing."

Remus wrinkled his nose. "Don't get your tongue pierced."

"Why?"

"Because I love it the way it is. I don't think I'd enjoy kissing you as much if you had a large metal ball in your mouth." Remus giggled slightly thinking about it.

"What about my nipple?"

"That would be fine... it suppose it would hurt a lot... but I wouldn't mind. Then again, it isn't really my decision what you get pierced," Remus brushed Sirius's hair out of his eyes. "Your hair is soo long..."

"Should I get it cut then?"

Remus smiled warmly as he stroked his fingers along the soft hair again. "No... I love it the way it is."

Sirius smiled and lent down, kissing Remus' nose. "I'm glad that you like it."

"I like everything about you..." Remus furrowed his eyebrows, taking a hold of Sirius' earlobe. "Even those multiple holes in your ears... When did you get those?"

"I've had my ears pierced since 4th year. Though, Hogwarts doesn't allow me to wear all of my jewelry."

"How many times have you pierced them?"

Sirius thought for a moment before answering. "3 in my left earlobe, 3 in the right – with one cartilage piercing. I also got the little flappy thing on the left-"

"The flappy thing...?"

"Yeah..." Sirius grabbed onto the little piece of flesh on his left ear, closest to his cheek. "The little bit that pokes out... helps to direct sound into the ear."

"Oh... okay."

"Anyway, I got that pierced... but now I think that the hole has probably closed up, so I'm going to have to get it done again." Sirius rest his head on the palm of his hand again, looking down into Remus' eyes. "The school is really strict about piercings. They only let me keep the cartilage one in because if it closed up again, and I had to get it re-pierced there is the chance that the whole right side of my face would go numb."

"Really?"

"Yup, if they hit a specific place in your ear, then it can make that side of your face go numb because they've severed the nerve."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Huh... I never knew that."

Sirius smiled. "You should get something pierced."

Remus had to swallow a laugh before responding. "Why?"

"Because I think it'd be hot if you did." Sirius smirked, raising his eyebrows.

"My parents would kill me if I came home with a piercing."

"Who says they have to be able to see it?" Sirius sat up, smiling widely. "We should go together and get something pierced."

"I don't know about that... what would I get done?" Remus sat up, subconsciously mimicking Sirius' position.

"Ummm... You should get your nipple done."

Remus made a face and cocked his head to the side. "I... I... wouldn't it hurt?"

"I'd be there with you the whole time, it'd be alright." Sirius took Remus' hands in his. "Please?"

Remus crinkled his nose up and squirmed around a bit before lowering his head. "What about the wolf?"

"Take it out every full moon."

"What would you get pierced then?"

"Ahh... well... maybe I'd get a tattoo."

"A tattoo?" Remus raised his eyebrows. "You'd get a tattoo?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I don't... wh... where would you get it...?"

Sirius lay down on his side, thinking for a long while before answering. And as he found the answer, he pulled his pants down slightly. "Right there."

"Your hip?"

"Yeah... No one but you is going to see it. Besides, it would be something for you."

"For me? What do you mean?"

Sirius turned and flopped onto his back, raising his knees and resting his hands over his navel. "I'd get something that would remind me of you."

Remus furrowed his eyebrows and moved to straddle Sirius' waist, smiling when Sirius hands can to rest on his thighs - stroking them lightly with his thumbs. Remus looked down into Sirius' eyes. "You'd really get a tattoo for me?"

"Yeah."

Remus took a deep breath before responding, turning slightly pink at the words he was about to say. "Then... I... I'll... I'll get my nipple pierced for you."

Sirius smiled and sat up, allowing Remus to slide back slightly so that they were in a comfortable position. Remus unbent his knees and let them lay out nearly flat as he still sat on Sirius' thighs. "Don't get it done if you don't want to, Rem. As long as I have you with me, I'm fine. I don't need a pierced nipple to prove that you still love me – as kinky and wonderful as that would be."

Remus laughed and lent forward. He was about to kiss Sirius' lips before remembering what he had just done at the wastebasket - so he settled for kissing his cheek instead. "Alright."

Sirius smiled and rest his head on Remus' shoulder, wrapping his arms tightly around Remus' waist. "We should go work damage control with James and Peter."

Remus sighed as he wrapped his own arms around Sirius' neck, his cheek to Sirius' head. "I suppose so... but before that, can we go eat? I'm starving..."

Laughing, Sirius stood up holding Remus as he walked. Remus immediately clasped his legs around Sirius' waist – crossing his ankles together, tightening his hold on Sirius' neck.

"You need your shirt, and we both need our jackets." Remus reminded his boyfriend as he began to walk towards the door, smiling.

"Ahh bugger it... I can just wear you as a jacket."

"Siri..."

Rolling his eyes, Sirius backed up, and turned, lying down on the bed so that Remus was underneath his now warming body. "...I don't want to use my real jacket."

Remus smiled, uncrossing his ankles and adjusting his hips slightly, gaining a low groan from Sirius. "As much as I would love to be your jacket, and as much as I love having you between my legs," Remus decided to grind his hips against Sirius, gaining another moan as Remus kissed Sirius' neck. "but I need food, and so do you. And we both need our clothing so we don't freeze once we get outside."

Sirius smirked as he rolled his own hips against Remus, receiving an airy moan from the werewolf. "I concur whole-heartedly with you my fellow Marauder."

Sirius lent down and placed a quick kiss to Remus' lips before standing and looking for his shirt. Silent minutes passed, and Remus sat on the bed, ready to leave.

"...Siri?"

Sirius thread his arms through his jacket and looked up at Remus. "Yes?"

"...Is... is our relationship purely sexual?"

Zipping up his jacket, Sirius walked over to Remus, holding out a hand. Remus gladly accepted it, and smiled as Sirius pulled him into his arms, resting his chin on Remus' head. "No. I would still be here if we hadn't ever planned on having sex." As if he plucked the question straight from Remus' mind, Sirius spoke again – placing a gentle hand to Remus' cheek, forcing him to look up into his eyes. "Stop worrying my sweet Remus, I'm with you because I love you."

Remus' expression melted into a smile as he lent up and gently kissed Sirius' lips. "Alright..."

"Don't you ever think any differently, Remus. Don't ever." Sirius ran his hand down Remus' arm, and gently enclosed their fingers together, before leading him to the door.

Remus smiled in spite of himself and lent into Sirius body, resting his cheek on the soft outside fabric of Sirius' jacket. "I love you too."

Sirius looked down at him and smiled warmly, his bangs falling over his eyes. "I'm glad."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Right, well it seems that I've received a few questions/statements just begging to be addressed embedded in the comments, so I choose now - to answer/respond to them. .

Black Turkey of Doom: **1)** _Er...how do you know how to describe sex scenes?/_ I don't really 'know' how to describe them, I just use my best knowledge on the subject and run with it. Of course, like a good slash writer - I've done my fair share of research on the subject of homosexual intercourse, so that's where I've found some information. Another good resource is just reading alot of other authors work and seeing how they describe it - then _changing it around_ and using it in your own fic. Or, you know, describe what you'd like to have done to you. _**2)** I wonder if you could teach me how to describe sex scenes?/ _I can't teach you how to write sex scenes! You have to learn this kind of thing on your own darling, there's nothing that I can teach you. Unless you find that reading my sex scenes gives you help - then I'm being a teacher. Otherwise, you just read and learn that way. So I do suppose that I am helping you... lol... weee!!!

Angel4eva3: **1)** _You seem to know alot about drugs (wink wink)/ _Well, who doesn't these days? I suppose that it's alright that I'm telling you all how to roll a proper joint via my fic? Then again, you'd be suprised who taught me how to do it. (giggles and nudges at Tracey) And no! It wasn't her who taught me, but she knows who it was. .

Sweet Mercy: **1) **_I never thought the marauders smoked but I actually did think that sirius lost his viginity in third year.../ _Ahh, well it was the 70's was it not? Who didn't smoke some form of tobacco/weed/drug in the 70's?

Magus Durron: There really wasn't a question/statement in your comment that I felt the need to respond to... BUT! You left a comment so full of piss and vinegar that I couldn't resist replying! I'm so thrilled that you thought of my fic to be good enough to err... remind you of... err... not a fic? AHUGH! Anyway, . ... What I meant was thank-you for thinking that it was something that was real like - till the sex. That meant tons! I LOVE YOU BACK!!! (titters happily)

StolenSoul4818: Well... let's see... for you, I do suppose that I can fit in some more Regulus if it'll make you happy! I'm always on the look out for suggestions - and I've just taken one. . and no, I don't have AIM... I am teh poor and alas - all I have is MSN... .

SiriusMoonPuppy: Ahh! I'm quite sure that Sirius enjoyed the screaming, and did remember it. I may have to write in more Gillyweed smoking on Remus' part... because high!Remus is my new favorite version of him.

. . . . . . . . .

I think that's about it for now... but just watch, I'll find something else I want to respond to later... and I'll kick myself.

But now - a general note for ALL the readers regarding the length of the story. IT WILL BE CARRIED ON PAST GRADUATION! Weee!!! I think that I'll take it to just after James and Lily's deaths, and have the last chapter be sort of a Remus POV after they've died and he's seen Sirius go to Azkaban. (nod, nod, nod) Yes, so expect to see this fic finish with about 50 Chapters or so... Maybe less, maybe more. Do not fear, I will warn you when the fic is coming down to an end - and, since it's only January 1st at Hogwarts... it won't be for a while.

_Would you like a future chapter spoiler?! I BET!! Well here it is: Red Leather Pants with chains attached to them._

TRACEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (leaves her piles and hordes of cookies) Be happy again! And I'll post our fic as soon as I re-format it. Expect to see it up sometime before noon today (Aug 16th), considering the re-formating will take about an hour or less...

I can't believe I've gotten 223 reviews... (dies) MORE PLEASE!!! The more comments you leave, the more chapter spoilers you shall receive. (winks)


	22. Chapter 22

Months had past since New Years, and the Marauders found themselves sitting in their last class, Divination, on Thursday – 7 days to Valentines. Professor Trelawny had announced the birth of a granddaughter, Sybill – and, apparently, she too held the Seer quality.

"That's a load of bullocks..." James laughed under his breath as the Professor drawled on and on about her newest granddaughter.

Remus shook his head and smiled. "James, you are such a poor spirit these days."

"Only because Lily is getting all... testy on me."

"Testy? How so?" Peter spoke up, scribbling out something on his parchment.

James crossed his arms and sighed as he looked over at Sirius. "Ever since... you know, we..."

"Had sex, yeah, carry on." Sirius smiled at James, fiddling with his only earring.

"Yeah... well... she's been really emotional or what have you." James sighed. "I don't know what to do anymore. Everything I do for her ends up with her either in tears of happiness or anger..."

"Do you think she's pregnant?"

The three Marauders snapped their attention to Peter.

"WHAT?! NO! No she can't be! She's not... she isn't pregnant is she Remus?!"

"What makes you think that I would know above you, James? Good lord she's your girlfriend," Remus rolled his eyes and returned his attention to Peter. "Peter, why in hell would you suggest that she was pregnant? If you have paid attention, you would know it was because of hormones – not pregnancy."

"Ahh... are you sure, Moony?" James stammered as he ran a hand through his hair.

Placing a hand to James', Remus smiled. "I'm quite sure."

"...Okay..." James smiled weakly and ran another hand through his hair.

Half of the class had passed by when Remus suddenly let out a squeak of pain as he held his side.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

Remus smiled up at Sirius through teary eyes. "N-nothing... I'm fine..." To contradict himself, Remus nearly fell to the ground as another stab of pain rushed through his body.

"Shit!" Sirius jumped out of his chair and made his way quickly to the other side of the table. He held onto Remus' shoulders, forcing him to look into his azure eyes. "Remus... Remus! Remy did you take your wolfsbane?"

Remus closed his eyes tightly as his mouth fell open. He fell forward to rest his head on Sirius shoulder. "...N-n..."

Sirius looked from James to Peter and then took a hold of Remus' head in his hands, running his fingers through his wavy hair. He moved his head gently – forcing him to look up once again. "You didn't did you?"

Remus shook his head as he fell forward again, tears streaming from his eyes. "I'm... s-s-sorry..."

Sirius quickly moved and scooped Remus into his arms. "Professor! I need to take Remus to the infirmary."

"I... what for?"

Sirius glanced pointedly at a chart of the moon on the wall before rushing out of the class. No one else had noticed the look, save for the Professor. She merely nodded as she watched Sirius disappear through the door.

"S...Siri..."

"Shh... just shh... we're almost there..."

Remus nodded against Sirius' chest as he tightened his hold around Sirius neck. Moments later, the two had made it to the hallway leading to the infirmary, and Remus had gotten sick. Sirius gagged as Remus' lunch trickled down the front of his robes, pooling between their bodies. Taking a deep breath – Sirius continued to walk, finally kicking the door open.

Madam Pomfrey let out a startled cry and held her hand to her chest when the door slammed open and into the stonewall. "AHH! Oh my goodness! What are you doing Mr. Black?!"

Sirius was about to speak when Remus threw up again. Sirius squeezed both his eyes shut and pursed his lips together – making a face. He was silently thankful that none of it had gotten directly on his skin.

"Oh dear... Come with me!"

Sirius quickly followed her, and lay Remus down on the bed she had instructed he put Remus down on. Standing back, Sirius held his arms out to his side as the throw up slid down the front of his cloak, covering his torso and legs.

"Auugh... Here, change into this... quickly!" Madam Pomfrey held out a dressing gown and pushed him in the direction of an empty bed that was concealed from all the rest.

Sirius nodded and grabbed at the cloth. He changed quickly and immediately was thankful that these dressing gowns had backs to them, as another nurse with bright green eyes and long black hair had walked by, flashing him a warm, knowing smile. Madam Pomfrey had stripped Remus down to his boxers and was currently administering a sleeping potion to the pale boy by the time Sirius had returned to the bedside, holding his clothes in a giant, smelly, heap.

"Why is he so ill all of sudden?" Madam Pomfrey took the pile of clothing from Sirius, meaning to give it to the House-Elves so that they would wash it for him.

"Full moon... he didn't take the wolfsbane."

"Oh no..." Madam Pomfrey paled slightly before rushing to summon Dumbledore.

"I don't think that's necessary." Sirius broke in, catching her arm in his.

"Excuse me?"

Sirius glanced down at Remus before responding, his voice quiet, and soft. "There's nothing that Dumbledore can do that you already havn't. We'll have to wait until tonight for this to pass. Nothing can be done, Miss."

"You expect me to believe that the Headm-"

"He's quite right, Poppy. There is nothing that I can do that you havn't." Dumbledore had by this time stepped up beside Sirius. How he had gotten there so fast was a complete mystery to both Poppy and Sirius. "We will have to wait it out. Allow him to sleep for now, and he will have to be taken to the Shrieking Shack tonight for his transformation."

"I..." Madam Pomfrey had gone red. "I... All right. Call me if you need me then." She nearly stormed off, clearly very mad, having just been told what to do by a student – and only to have that backed up by the Headmaster himself.

Sirius smiled quickly at Dumbledore, as they were the same height, before he sat down in the chair next to the bed beginning to run his fingers through Remus' soft hair. This touch visibly reduced the amount of pain Remus had been feeling, as his body immediately relaxed and a small smile formed on his lips as his body shifted slightly towards Sirius'. Sirius smiled down at his sleeping mate, and lent forward, kissing his forehead gently.

"It's amazing isn't it...?"

"...What's amazing Sir...?" Sirius looked up at Dumbledore, his eyebrows furrowed.

"The power that love has over another person." Dumbledore smiled kindly, his blue eyes twinkling slightly. "I'll allow you to stay with him as long as you wish, but I will have to ask you to leave when the time comes to bring him to the Shrieking Shack."

Sirius nodded slowly, smiling up at the Headmaster. "Thank-you Sir."

Dumbledore smiled in return as he turned to leave – his intricate robes swirling around him as he walked away, obviously turning to find Poppy and settle her down.

Sighing deeply, Sirius returned his attention to Remus. He noticed Remus had shuttered a bit from the cold, and he pulled the blanket up from around his feet to his chest. Sirius smoothed the blanket around Remus' armpits, making sure that his chest was covered and that the only visible scars were faded.

Sirius continued to stroke his fingers along Remus' hair, when a woman had walked up behind him.

"How is he?"

Sirius turned and his face melted into a smile. "Oh... Hey Alice... He's alright, I suppose."

"Mm... that's good." She smiled again before looking towards another chair. "Would you mind if I sat with you for a while?"

"No, go ahead." Sirius motioned towards the chair.

Alice smiled warmly as she sat down, and crossing her legs she spoke again in a soft tone. "I never thought I'd see you in a dress, Sirius."

"Ahh... well..." Sirius smiled, letting his hand travel down Remus' shoulder and arm, until it found his hand. He absentmindedly traced the scar on Remus' palm. "There's nothing under here that you havn't seen before."

Alice giggled slightly, readjusting her position on the chair. "I didn't think you'd remember that."

"How could I forget?" Sirius smiled again, he was always calmed when she was near – even back in third year. "It'd be impossible to forget your first time with someone, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so." Alice clasped her hands together, and glanced down at Remus. "He's so gorgeous,"

Sirius blushed slightly as a private smile found his lips. "Yeah..."

"How did you manage to find someone so beautiful, Sirius?"

It was Sirius' turn to laugh. "I didn't find him... he found me." Sirius' smile melted as he glanced back down at Remus. He had shifted and was now on his side, facing him. Remus's hand rest over Sirius', a sleepy smile spread across his full pink lips.

"You're very lucky to have found someone." Alice offered quietly as she watched Sirius melt into the simple touch of Remus's hand on his. "Very lucky indeed."

"...Thank-you, Alice. That means a lot coming from you."

Alice smiled to herself and took a deep breath, ending it with a slight sigh.

"What's wrong?" Sirius looked up into Alice's familiar green eyes, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh..." Alice looked up into Sirius' eyes, her own eyes soft. "I'll be leaving Hogwarts soon, for the second time. I've nearly finished my apprenticeship with Madam Pomfrey."

"...Oh. Is it back to school after this then?"

"Mhm... I'll be taking more classes over the spring and summer." Alice sighed lightly. "I really don't want to leave, I love it here. But – duty calls."

Sirius grinned at her warmly, sitting back slightly in his chair. "Yeah... well I'm sure that you'll be allowed to come back to the school to be a full time nurse sooner or later. You're fabulous at it. Always were if I remember correctly."

Alice's grin matched Sirius as she spoke next. "Ever Prince Charming aren't you, Sirius?"

"I try, I try."

"Well, you succeeded."

"Naturally..."

Alice laughed warmly at her former lover before standing. "I had better get back to Madam Pomfrey..."

"Oh... er... yeah..." Sirius stood and walked towards her, he gasped slightly as a whoosh of warm air came up his dressing gown. He recovered quickly and held out his arms.

Alice smiled at him and walked forward, taking Sirius in her arms. She smiled into his shoulder as his familiar arms came around her slender frame. She breathed in deeply, remembering the times they had shared together. Sirius had ended the hug and held her shoulders in his hands.

"I love you, you know that right?"

Alice laughed again, her hands falling to Sirius' waist. Sirius had always managed to make her happy – no matter the situation. "Of course, and I you."

Sirius smiled proudly before leaning forward, lightly kissing her cheek. "Don't be a stranger anymore, alright?"

"I'll try. Take care, Sirius." Alice smiled when Sirius squeezed her shoulders.

Sirius smiled as he watched Alice walk away. "You too!"

Alice turned and waved slightly, receiving a wave in response. Sirius then turned to find Remus looking at him, a smile still on his lips.

"You're awake... shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I'm used to the potions by now, Madam Pomfrey keeps forgetting to up the dosage." Remus held out his hand towards Sirius, smiling wider when Sirius took it. He kissed the top of Sirius hand as he sat down in the chair beside the bed. "So that was her?"

"...Yeah. That was Alice Rowan."

"It's nice to see that you still treat eachother respectfully."

"Well, I don't see it to be right when you treat someone you love with anything other than respect, Rem."

"You still love her?"

"Yeah, but differently than I did before. She was my first, and she'll always be special to me." Sirius rubbed his thumb across Remus' hand.

"Well if you were to choose someone to love other than me, I wouldn't mind if it were her." Remus pushed his head further into the pillow and moved over, patting the bed beside him. "Lay with me...?"

"Certainly." Sirius stood up and lay down beside Remus, sharing the pillow. Remus then moved down resting his head on Sirius' shoulder, placing his arm across Sirius' abdomen. Sirius snaked his arm around Remus and held his shoulder in his hand.

"...I'm sorry for throwing up on you."

Sirius laughed and shook his head. "Ahh... think nothing of it."

"You still love me after I shared my lunch with you... twice... in a way that I shouldn't have?"

"Of course I do." Sirius twined his fingers with Remus', resting both their hands on Sirius' stomach. "Do you want me to come tonight?"

"I... I don't think so... I don't want you to get hurt."

Sirius crossed his ankles and wiggled his toes slightly as he spoke. "I wouldn't get hurt. I'd be Padfoot – and the wolf doesn't hurt him."

Remus shifted slightly, cuddling closer to his boyfriend. "This time is going to be different than before... I can feel it. Please don't come."

"...Alright."

"Thank-you, Siri."

"Mhm." Sirius kissed the crown of Remus' head, and watched as Remus' long sandy eyelashes closed over his eyes. Remus soon fell into a gentle sleep – being coaxed into it by the gentle motion of Sirius' breathing.

Sirius soon followed suit and closed his eyes, falling asleep holding Remus close to his body almost in fear of him disappearing, it seemed. A few hours had passed, and the boys found themselves curled up together. Sirius curled behind Remus almost protectively, his arm resting over Remus's slender waist. Remus stirred slightly as Dumbledore lightly shook him awake.

"Remus, it's time."

"Nn..." Remus furrowed his eyebrows and moved back pushing himself tighter against Sirius – who only held him closer.

"Remus. Wake up." Dumbledore shook him harder. "It's nearly nightfall."

At this, Remus shot up, leaving a very confused Sirius still lying on the mattress. Remus turned and looked down at Sirius, who had by now sat up and began to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Remus placed a hand to Sirius's cheek and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry..."

"It's okay... you need to go."

"...Yeah."

Remus lent forward and kissed Sirius lightly on the lips. He then kissed his cheek and whispered into his ear. "I love you, and please – don't come out tonight."

Sirius smiled and wrapped an arm around Remus, whispering back. "I won't. Be careful, alright?" He kissed Remus' cheek and smiled. "I love you too."

Remus smiled brightly and stood up – gathering his freshly cleaned clothing and changing. He then followed Dumbledore out into the fading light. He had made it to the Shack in record time; nearly running the whole way, as he knew his time was short. He had stripped all of his clothes off and waited. Remus had screamed with all his might when the wolf finally found him, huddled in the darkest corner of the familiar room that brought him nothing but complete desolation. He fell to his knees as the wolf gripped at his heart, clenching it tightly in it's furry grip, seeming to even stop the beating for seconds at a time – causing Remus to cough madly at the sudden loss of his heart's life. Blood pounded in his ears as he felt his bones shift and crack, his back widen and his feet elongate into hind legs.

The wolf sat up on his haunches and sniffed the air, searching for the scent of his mate. When it found nothing, the wolf began to tear around the room in a murderous frenzy, desperately trying to find a way out. The wolf longed for the taste of flesh, longed for the iron flavor of blood to wash his mouth in. Becoming increasingly irritated, the wolf slashed at his own body with his long claws – leaving malicious gashes in their wake. Somehow knowing that it would never be able to break free of the house, the wolf howled and barked in misery – tearing his claws up and down his body, and biting himself in every place available to be bitten. The wolf had spent the better part of the night tearing through the room, wreaking havoc to any remaining piece of furniture, tearing apart every shred that revealed any form of life ever being there. Roaring with rage at his own entrapment, the wolf began to ram his body against the tightly bolted door, and finally, after repeated crashes against the brittle wood – he broke through. His haunches rose as he sniffed the air. He looked from side to side, his yellow eyes flashing dangerously in the fading moonlight that had been reflected off of the mirror.

The wolf stopped instantly, and looked at it's own reflection in the mirror. His great yellow eyes traveled over his face – seeing long deep cuts across his muzzle. The wolf bared his teeth at the image that faced him – and promptly lunged at the mirror, shattering it into thousands of tiny shards of glass. The wolf's gray fur sparkled with glass as the sun had begun to rise, giving away to multiple laughing birds who had came alive in the early morning hours. Breaking into a long howl, the wolf found himself being bathed in warm sunlight, causing the glass to sparkle and shine with beauty. He had tried to run from the light, but it had found him. All the while seeming to smile and coax him into the warmth. Gentle rays of sunshine fell upon his body, stroking the glass from his frame as fur slowly gave way to soft, human skin. His snout began to pull it's self back into it's rightful place – as a small, evenly shaped human nose. Yellow eyes faded to amber, claws, into fingers. Teeth found their rightful place in his mouth, his tail – seeming to vanish inside the slender body. A boy lay in the warmth of morning, bleeding... panting... hurting.

The boy felt blood pour over his face and pool around his head. The stench of his wounds filled his nostrils as his eyes fluttered shut. Warm hands found him within seconds, covering his body and levitating it gently into the air. He soon found himself traveling through a long tunnel, a tunnel with roots falling from the ceiling, and bugs crawling in and out of the dirt – their hard, luminescent shells catching what little light had found it's way into the darkness. He felt hardness underneath him, and a pillow under his head. The bright, sterile environment he now found himself in engulfed his whole being. The boy heard distant whispers around his body - asking questions, and offering words of comfort. Jerking his head to the side, the sandy-haired boy snarled dangerously when he felt a cold cloth touch at the long cut along his face and nose. He had tried to swipe her hand away, but was only awarded with having his arms and legs strapped to the bed by some unseen force. He couldn't figure out what it was that was holding him down – as he couldn't see anything.

Roaring again as the cloth touched his face, the boy's back and legs arched off the table, veering to the right – away from the woman beside him as he quickly tore his head away from the sting of what was thought to be help. He struggled hard against the restraints that held him down.

"SOMEONE GET BLACK IN HERE!"

...Black? Who was, or is this Black thing? Was it a person, maybe... or... or possibly a toy? The boy bared his teeth and growled at the woman standing over him, her hair fell out of its bun, and he felt the sudden urge to lift his hand and run his fingers through the glistening brown hair. He let out a scream – why was he being held captive? Why had they tied him down to the bed? He wasn't going to hurt anyone...

A tall boy had rushed to the hospital wing, and ran towards the growling noises he heard. His heart raced as his azure eyes fell upon the boy strapped to the bed. His face was covered with inexplicable amounts of areas of crusted blood, which forever seemed to give way to new fountains of a fresh red liquid. His body... no inch of it seemed to not be covered in scratches.

The tall boy immediately swooped down on the feral boy strapped to the table, his hands coming to the other boy's face, forcing him to look into his eyes.

"Look at me Remus!"

...Remus?

"Remus!" The boy's azure eyes began to fill with tears as he looked down into amber eyes. "Please... please... Remus..."

The boy stopped struggling against the restraints and blinked hazily at the person holding his head in place. His eyes searched the crying boy's face, not remembering anything about this strange person who had... had just lent down and, did he just... had he just kissed the restrained boy's lips? The werewolf's ears perked as the boy rest his forehead against his own, words tumbling out of his shaking lips.

"Remus... remember me, remember us... Remus..." A tear fell from an azure eye and splattered onto a red cheek. "Please... Remus... I love you, God... I can't loose you, Remus... Please... remember..."

He felt his body relax as the crying boy had begun to run his fingers through the tangled, blood matted sandy hair. The boy's head fell to the side, quickly being brought back to face the boy holding his cheek. Amber eyes fluttered open and closed as they became wet with tears.

"No... No, no, no..." The boy who had been holding his face changed his position and was now straddled the werewolf, still leaning over and holding onto his cheeks. More tears fell onto the bloodied cheek, causing it to run down his face. "You can't do this... you have to remember. Do it, Remus... I know you can."

The people who had been standing around, trying to help this boy who was apparently known as Remus - all had tears standing in their eyes. They watched silently, helplessly –as a boy with black hair poured his heart out into the person lying underneath him. The people gripped at eachother for support.

"Remus... sweetie... Remus..." The boy's hair fell around his face as he ran his shaking hand along a sandy-blonde hairline – brushing hair away. "I can't loose you, I would die if I lost you... God please..." He placed gentle kisses to a furrowed brow. His body racked with sobs as he spoke again, his voice quiet and thin. "Please Remus..." His voice hitched as he lent forward, rocking back and forth. "I love you, I love you, I love you so much... Please..."

His voice fell to a whisper as he begged for this boy to remember whom he was, and why he was here. He felt another kiss on his lips, and this time... he... he kissed back. He felt another kiss, and another, and...

"S-S-Sirius...?" The boy's mind seemed to clear as he stared helplessly into the azure eyes floating only inches away from his own. His brow furrowed, his lips twitched and tears fell from his eyes. "Sirius?"

The boy overtop of him stopped breathing.

"Quickly! Untie him! Do it now!"

Feeling the pressure around his wrists and ankles completely dissolve, the boy sat up and let his hands close around either side of someone's face.

"Oh my God... Remus..." Fresh tears streaked his already blotchy cheeks as his arms wrapped hard around the other boy. "Jesus Christ I thought I'd lost you..."

Who was he? Remus... he was Remus... and this... Sirius. Remus's hands fell from Sirius' cheeks and he wrapped them around the other boy's back. His fingers gripping the thin fabric of Sirius' shirt as his forehead rest on his shoulder.

Sirius lent back and gripped Remus' cheeks. He smiled through still falling tears and kissed his mate tenderly before resting his forehead against Remus'.

"I am never... ever... ever letting you out of my sight again."

Remus smiled and closed his eyes, swallowing. His breath came in slow intakes as Remus placed his hands to the ones on his cheeks, holding them tightly in his own grip. "God... I was... I was so scared..." Remus felt tears streak down his cheeks as knees rest against his ribcage. "I forgot who I was... who you were... and God... I love you so much Sirius." Remus tilted his head forward, kissing Sirius again. "Never leave me... don't ever leave me, please don't ever leave me..."

Sirius shook his head and took Remus in his arms once more, holding him close.

"May... may we tend to his wounds...?" Madam Pomfrey asked timidly after a long pause, walking forward only slightly. "If it's alright with you, Mr. Black... we'd like to..."

Sirius sat back and smiled. His eyes didn't leave Remus'. "Yeah..." Sirius placed another kiss to Remus' lips before shifting his position and standing up beside the bed, his hand in Remus'.

Remus lay down, his eyes not falling from Sirius as a cloth touched at the wound on his face. Sirius sat down and nodded at Remus, telling him to lay back and close his eyes – to let the nurses do their jobs.

Sirius remain at Remus' bedside for the rest of the day - never once letting Remus stray from his sight.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I really don't feel the need to say much of anything after this update... (dies) Too emotional... But, there are a few things that I must say.

Dark Dragon Fire Demon: Yes... As a general rule - the more reveiws, the faster another chapter is written. (smiles)

The Almighty Dill Pickle: Your name makes me want Dill Pickle chips... AANYYYWAYYYY.... . ... If you logged out and reveiwed 500 times you'd know the whole storyline. Then again, wouldn't you run out of things to say? I'm talking about 'real' reveiws... not just... "Hey. Good Job. More Please." . .... Eeeh.... I'm done. (smiles nervously)

Kylia Nahimana: Ahh... Poor, poor you and your poor, poor, stupid computer. (leaves you double chocolate chunk cookies just as you instructed me too.) Weee!! I swear I'll post for our fic tonight, before - Fanfic was 'busy' so I didn't get the chance to... That - and I woke up at 2:00pm anyhow and was promptly kicked off at 5. Bastard Aaron...

_WOO! SPOILER TIME!!!!_ Here you go: Oui, Oui! (kicks at a mime)

Weee.... I LOVE VAUGE SPOILERS! And, as always - Reveiw and let me know what you thought of the chapter. Suggestions are always accepted and sometimes used. (I feel like a broken record... O.o;;)


	23. Chapter 23 : Medium to Hard R

Remus rolled onto his side, facing away from Sirius. He folded his hands under his head as he looked blankly down at the mattress. His face throbbed, and he winced every time he spoke. His breath began to come in short, slow intakes as he blinked away tears. He felt ugly - completely and totally ugly.

"Rem?"

Remus closed his eyes and felt more tears fall down his cheeks, the salty liquid stinging when it ran over the cuts. He didn't answer.

Sirius placed a hand to Remus' shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. Sirius' hand hovered over his shoulder silently before he had stood and began to walk away from the chair he had been sitting on to the other side of the bed. Sirius knelt down infront of Remus; his heart clenching as he watched tears run down Remus' face.

"What's wrong...?"

Remus let his head fall further, his chin rest against his chest. "Don't... don't look at me." His eyebrows furrowed together as more tears fell from his eyes.

"Remy..." Sirius stood and sat down next to his boyfriend, placing a gentle hand to his chin, forcing him to look up. "Why don't you want me to look at you?"

"...B-because I-I'm..." Remus quickly maneuvered his chin out of Sirius fingers and sat up, pulling his knees to his chest, resting his forehead on his joined hands.

"You're what?"

Remus lift his head slightly, his hair fell over his eyes as he spoke. "Ugly. I'm a monster..."

"Rem... you're not ugly."

"Yes I am..." Remus sniffed and felt more tears fall from his eyes. "Just go... leave me alone."

"No."

Remus turned to face Sirius. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked into Sirius eyes. "Please, just go..."

"I'm not leaving you, Remus." Sirius raised his hand and ran it along Remus' jaw, ignoring the twitch Remus gave as he tried to sever the contact. "You're not going to do this."

"I just... I... Go awa-"

Remus' stumbling request was cut off by a kiss. Sirius gently kissed his mate, his hand curling instinctively around the nape of Remus' neck. Sirius parted his lips gently, taking in a slow breath before kissing Remus again. He placed many slow, gentle kisses on Remus' lips, each one received and returned gratefully by his mate.

Sirius rest his forehead against Remus', his hand still on Remus's neck. "You aren't ugly, Remus. You're entirely beautiful. Everything about you is attractive and handsome." Sirius took in a slow breath, feeling more tears fall from Remus' eyes. "I love everything about you... your flawless skin, the way you arch to my touch, and the way you trust me completely... I love your cheeks, your ears, and your wavy hair. I love how your face lights up when you smile, the way your eyes soften when you're happy, the way your nose wrinkles when you laugh. I love your voice, the way you twine your fingers in mine, the way you walk, eat, and drink..." Sirius lent back and looked into Remus eyes. "I don't care about the scars, Remy... I love them because they are a part of who you are."

Sirius cupped his hand over Remus' cheek, and Remus lent into the touch. Nodding his head, Remus changed his position and sat with his side to Sirius' chest. He pulled his knees back up, his arms folded between his thighs and chest. Sirius wrapped both of his arms around Remus' shaking body and held him tight. Softly kissing his forehead, before resting his cheek against the crown of Remus' head.

That afternoon gave way to evening, and the hospital wing fell to darkness, the only light was the shining moon, which cascaded through the large windows and over the many beds. Sirius lay beside Remus, his head on Remus' shoulder. The doctors had permitted that Sirius would be allowed to stay. Sirius had been provided with his own set of pajamas. His slender fingers absentmindedly traced a scar on Remus' chest.

"Siri?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank-you for staying with me..."

Sirius smiled into Remus' chest, letting his hand finally come to a rest. "Your welcome."

Remus tilted his head slowly, resting his cheek on the top of Sirius head. "Valentines Day is next week."

"So is your birthday."

"...Indeed it is."

"It's odd... you being born on February 14th."

"I suppose it is..." Remus shifted his position, turning onto his side on the small bed, facing Sirius. "I'm glad I have you to spend the day with."

"You always will have me to spend the day with." Sirius turned and mimicked Remus' position. "What do you want for your birthday?"

"Mmm... I don't know. I don't really like gifts."

"You have to pick something."

"I don't want to. I don't want anything."

Sirius reached down and took Remus' hand. "You must want something... Anything...?"

"I have everything I want." Remus smiled, leaning forward. "I have you. That's all I need."

Sirius laughed warmly as Remus' forehead came to rest against his own. "That's rather cheesy you know."

Remus let out a low sigh. "I know. Everything is cheesy when you're in love it seems."

Sirius nodded and the two fell into a long silence. Things between them had changed drastically at the transformation. They both seemed to mature in the blink of an eye, realizing how easy it was to loose eachother. Neither of them knew how deep the bond had run between them – as it was the only thing that brought Remus back. There were times during the day when Remus would forget who he was, every time he would fall silent and his eyes would shift nervously around the room, searching for a way out. And each time he was lost, he was found again by a single kiss or gentle caress of the skin. Sirius helped him remember who he was, with a kind smile and squeeze of his hand. Sirius hadn't left his side once. Keeping the request that Remus had muttered that morning as frightened tears fell from his amber eyes.

Conversation seemed to be lost on the two boys. Both of them only settled when the other was near, they felt each other's heartbeats, each other's breathing patterns... heard each other's thoughts. Remus remembered the sloppy words that fell from Sirius's lips, and the never-ending tears that fell from Sirius' azure eyes when he recalled that morning. The words hadn't made sense to him, they all seemed to be strung together in a giant mass of emotion. It was only then that Remus realized how much Sirius truly loved him. Through the whole thing... Remus heard apologetic words flowing through his mind – referring to Madeline, and words of anger telling him to remember.

"Lily really was pregnant."

"What?"

"She... she had a miscarriage." Remus spoke softly. "I found her in the bathroom... crying, and covered in blood. She was sitting in the corner, her hands and legs were covered in so much blood..."

"Remus..."

"I helped her clean herself up, I held onto her while she cried... I promised not to tell James she had lost their child." Remus shook his head. "She wanted the baby... she wanted it so badly. She was going to tell James that afternoon... before..."

Sirius closed his eyes. "That's why she's acting the way she is...?"

"...Yes. She's had only me to rely on for comfort." Remus laughed slightly. "I had no idea how to cope with a miscarriage. I had no idea how to help her through it. I don't know how I'm doing it, I really don't." Remus curled his neck and rest it against Sirius' collarbones. "Don't tell anyone,"

"I... I won't..."

"Thank-you."

"Mm..." Sirius pulled Remus closer to his body, holding him tight against his chest.

Remus let go of Sirius' hand and let it trace the indent in the middle of Sirius' abdomen as he lay there. His fingers slowly traced over the hard muscles under his skin, moving towards Sirius' boxers.

"...Rem..."

"Shh... just let me..." Remus moved his head back and kissed Sirius' neck.

Sirius' long eyelashes blinked before he nodded – his eyes burned into Remus' as his fingers slid under the thin fabric of Sirius' pants. Sirius eyebrows furrowed slightly as he felt long, graceful fingers curve around his length. Remus smiled, studying Sirius' eyes. Remus had always been told that a person's eyes were the windows into their soul. Sirius face began to flush as he closed his eyes, drawing his bottom lip into his mouth, biting at the flesh. Remus face softened as a small whimper escaped from Sirius' throat as his fingers teased at the head of Sirius' penis, lightly stroking the warming flesh.

Remus lent over and kissed Sirius' lips softly before resting his head on the pillow again. Not once did he stop the movement of his hand on Sirius. He wished that Sirius would open his eyes and look at him... and, just as he finished his thought, Sirius looked up at him - loosing himself in a vast ocean of amber and honey. Sirius mouth fell open slightly as a small groan escaped from his throat, he didn't blink, he didn't want to ever close his eyes. Sirius' cheeks glowed a deeper shade of crimson as small, careful movements of fingers caressed him higher into the throws of pleasure. Remus smiled at him, and Sirius closed his eyes, his body arching towards the werewolf's, his mouth falling open as hurried breaths found their way in and out of his lungs. Remus' eyes traveled over Sirius face slowly, drinking in the way his face looked when he was moments away from climax. Moving his hand one last time, Remus felt Sirius on his hands, slicking his fingers with white. Sirius eyelashes fluttered as he opened his eyes, looking at Remus. His soft azure eyes filled with tears as he fell into Remus' warm embrace. He cried softly in Remus's arms, the pillow drinking up the salty tears that fell from his eyes and slid down his cheeks. Remus closed his eyes and wiped his fingers off before wrapping his arm around his love. He pulled Sirius close to his chest, whispering soft words into his ear, trailing his fingers up and down his back caressing the skin.

His tears eventually stopped. No other words were spoken as they drifted into sleep. Sirius's actions need not be explained – his actions need not to be judged. Remus held Sirius through the night, calmly accepting the dark as it surrounded them. He welcomed the dark, for it left only them to be contended with. Everything around them seemed to be non-existent as they felt the bond between them deepen even more so than before. They were forever a part of eachother. From this moment on, neither would be the same.

....

Sirius awoke to a gentle caress against the nape of his neck. Gentle, loving fingers ran lightly across the skin, slowly lulling him from his deep rest. Remus lay on his side, smiling as he felt Sirius awaken.

"James is here."

Sirius nodded against Remus' chest. "Morning James."

"...Morning." James smiled as Sirius turned to face him, lying on his back. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine." Sirius managed a small smile. "Yourself?"

"Alright..." James' face fell after he had returned Sirius' smile.

"What's wrong, Jamie...?" Sirius turned to sit up and face his friend, feeling Remus' fingers around his waist, holding onto his hip gently.

James took off his glasses and let his head fall to his hands. "Lily was... she... had a miscarriage."

Sirius offered no words, but did take James into a hug. He held his friend close as he wept.

"I was going to be a father..."

"Shh..." Sirius let his head fall beside James' ear. "Shh..."

James's tears eventually ceased, and he sat back, wiping his eyes. James rest his back against the chair, and crossed his arms. "So much has changed in so little time."

"That's life." Sirius smiled warmly, feeling Remus sit up behind him, wrapping his arms around Sirius' waist, kissing his shoulder. Sirius bowed his head down and rest his hand over Remus'.

The three friends sat in silence; none of them knew what to say to the other. They each had their own pains to silently deal with. Remus spoke first.

"Who's up for breakfast...?"

James smiled, as did Sirius.

"Sure... do you want to get dressed first then... and we'll all go down to the Great Hall?"

Sirius and Remus nodded. James stood up and walked towards the exit of the infirmary, telling them he would wait by the doors. The two remaining Marauders dressed quickly and quietly, taking each other's hands as they walked towards James. Remus smiled at Madam Pomfrey as he walked past, ignoring her protests. He was fine, he felt fine. He needed to get away from her, from the hospital room, from the sterile dead environment.

Sirius and Remus walked hand in hand, James beside Sirius. None of them spoke as they made their way to the Great Hall, each of them bowing their heads to the ground. The Marauders had never been known to be quiet in the presence of eachother – and everyone they walked by knew something was wrong. Their friends offered feeble greetings as they passed eachother, the return being a mere smile and low whisper of 'Hello'. Remus looked up as they reached the Great Hall, looking around at his classmates. He scanned the hall momentarily before allowing Sirius to lead him to their table, Remus again let his head fall, trying to hide the hideous gashes on his face. The three friends soon joined Peter and Lily.

Lily looked up at them and smiled. "Good Morning,"

Remus smiled faintly before sitting down, resting his right elbow on the table covering the back of his head with his hand. "Morning."

Lily and James sat beside one another, leaning into the other's warmth, quietly drawing strength to carry on from the other. Sirius and Remus sat quietly beside eachother, their hands joined under the table. Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking up. This was to be the first time everyone had seen him after the transformation. The response he received was not unlike what he had expected.

Lily gasped, as did Peter. The rest of the Gryffindor table eyed him nervously, constantly looking from him to their plates – silently wondering what had happened. Remus took another deep breath and motioned to the pitcher of orange juice.

"Can you please pass me that?"

Peter nodded, a slight smile coming to his lips. "Yeah, here."

Remus took the pitcher gratefully with both hands, pouring himself a glass of juice. As he sipped the juice, Sirius lent over and kissed his jaw.

"You're doing so good, Rem... I'm proud of you."

Remus smiled, blinking his eyes a few times, washing away the tears he knew were trying to free themselves. He pursed his lips gently before nodding and taking a sip of his juice.

The rest of breakfast was mostly silent, until Dumbledore had stood at the front of the Hall, clapping his hands a few times rather dramatically to attain everyone's attention.

"I would like it if all but the 7th years would vacate from the Great Hall please!"

By this time, everyone had finished their breakfast, and they all nodded – muttering incoherent words under their breaths as they left the Hall. The great wooden doors closed behind them as Dumbledore addressed the 7th years.

"As this is your last year here, I have come up with a plan." He smiled when a good portion of the graduating class began to whisper amongst themselves. He waited for them to stop their whispering before he continued. "I have decided to hold an exclusive Valentines Dance for you all, with the help of the Prefects and Head Students. It will be held on the evening of the 14th, so be sure to have your dress robes ready and clean so that you may wear them." Dumbledore smiled kindly. "That is all, you may return to your previous activities."

The doors opened again, and most of the students had vacated the Great Hall – all muttering about the dance. Regulus had stayed behind, his long black hair tied back with a short length of ribbon. He slowly made his way over to Sirius.

"...Hey."

Sirius looked up, he smiled gently at his brother. "Hey."

"Er..." Regulus looked around the table, his eyes resting on Remus' face for a moment before looking to Sirius. "Mum wants us to come home and start to get our things. She's having the Malfoy's stay at the mansion in June... and she'd like our rooms to be cleaned out by then."

"You're _kidding_? I can't empty my whole room and bring it all to Hogwarts – most of my stuff is strictly against the dress policy... and she fucking knows that." Sirius ran a hand through his hair, looking back at Regulus.

Regulus raised his arms, holding his hands in the air. "Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy will be staying in my room, Lucius in yours." At this, Sirius cursed loudly. Regulus began the next statement slowly, dragging it out. "Don't kill the messenger, Sirius. Talk to her if you don't agree with this. It's not exactly as if I'm all to pleased to have all my belongings around me – I havn't got enough room and we'll only be bringing it back home after."

"God _Damnit_ that woman is bloody insufferable. A Malfoy in my room?" Sirius let out an irritated breath. "When's she want us back?"

"Last couple days of the month. We'll have to have all our stuff out by the beginning of June. We still have 3-½ month's left to get our shit out, so start taking some of it now. It'll be easier in the long run."

"...Yeah." Sirius rest his elbow on the table, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Thanks."

"Mhm." Regulus let his eyes fall back to Remus. "See you Remus." He smiled warmly.

Remus was shocked at the amount of kindness that came out of the Slytherin. He had only managed to nod his head vaugly before speaking. "...Yeah. See you."

With that, Regulus turned, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's waist who was standing behind him. He lent over and kissed her neck as they walked out of the hall. Amazingly enough she wasn't a Slytherin – but a Gryffindor... by the all too familiar name of Madeline.

Sirius' eyebrows rose as he watched his brother leave the Great Hall. He didn't dare say anything about whom he was with.

"That was interesting..." James raised his eyebrows and nodded as he looked over to Sirius.

Lily nodded as she smiled slightly. "Quite..."

"Valentines Day!" Peter interrupted suddenly causing his friends to jump with alarm, hoping to change the subject. "Valentines Day is really quite interesting if you think about it. Did you know that-"

"It's Remus's birthday on Valentines day." Sirius spoke up, smiling as he looked over at Remus.

"You're kidding?!"

"You should have known that, James." Remus scowled slightly at his friend's misplaced memory, but soon recovered. "But... yes... It is on Valentines Day, and before you ask, I don't want anything – so don't get me anything."

"Ah but what's a birthday without gifts?" Lily smiled, leaning over the table. "You must want something, Remus."

"I don't like receiving gifts." Remus stated, running his hand through his hair, strands of sandy-blonde hair catching the light. He then gracefully rest his hands on his teacup. "So don't get me anything. I don't want anything." Remus furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "I feel like a broken record."

"A very sexy broken record." Sirius smirked leaning sideways to kiss Remus' neck. Remus rolled his head to the side – allowing Sirius more skin to lay his lips on, though still rolling his eyes – trying to show his annoyance at his boyfriend.

Peter made a face. "Cut it out!"

"Ahh, a homophobe are you?" Remus smiled, his cheeks growing slightly pink as Sirius began to lightly suck on his neck, producing a small hickey.

"No, I just don't want to watch anyone sucking on someone else's neck."

Remus smirked and placed his right hand to Sirius's cheek, lightly asking him to stop with the touch. Sirius smirked before kissing Remus' cheek, receiving a warm smile at the kiss.

"What's wrong with being in love and showing it, Pete?" James tilted his head to the side, running his hand up Lily's thigh.

Peter's eyes traveled to James' hand, then back to his face. "Er... nothing. I just don't want to see it."

Lily smacked James's hand rather hard when his fingers began to find their way up the hem of her skirt. "Stop it! Peter's right... we shouldn't do these kinds of things in public."

"Then would you care to accompany me to a more private local, Lily dearest?"

Lily took a deep breath before glancing over at Sirius and Remus, who were both smiling at them. "Perhaps later."

"You tease me." James scowled before placing a light kiss to her cheek.

A smile formed on Lily's lips as she began to run her hand up James' thigh, smiling when he gave an interested twitch. "I know I do." She then promptly removed her hand and stood up. "I've got to clean my bed up a bit, see you all later."

James sputtered as Lily stood to walk away. "TEASE!"

Lily turned and kissed her fingers, blowing a kiss at James. She smiled widely before turning around and purposefully swinging her hips as she disappeared.

"Gah... Women." James sighed as he crossed his arms, resting his elbows on the table.

"Woman indeed." Sirius agreed, mimicking James' position.

"Stop mocking me."

"I'm not mocking you, I'm simply agreeing with you."

"Mocker."

"That sounds like a chocolate or some sort of sweet snack... 'Hey! Would you like a mocker? They're fresh out of the oven, just made!'"

James raised his eyebrow – very unimpressed. Peter sat with a confused look on his face – as per-usual. Remus merely shook his head and laughed.

"Well... at least he thinks I'm funny." Sirius made a face at James before turning to Remus.

"I only laughed because you made an ass of yourself, Siri."

James and Peter broke out into a laugh. James took a breath and spoke first.

"Now _that's _funny!"

"That hurts Rem, that really hurts." Sirius frowned and looked down at the table.

Remus on the other hand, smirked as his hand fell under the table. Sirius squeaked as fingers found his crotch, his arms flew into the air and he dropped his juice all over the table. Remus merely laughed and took his hand back, while Sirius cleared his throat and crossed his arms.

"What the hell!"

Sirius looked over to James and smiled apologetically. "Heh... Nothing."

When Sirius' slightly angry gaze found Remus, he saw that Remus was smiling widely whilst chewing on his bottom lip. He looked completely innocent of the act that just occurred. Remus tilted his head to the side and proceeded to contort his face into 'the look.'

If Sirius were to say anything at that moment, whatever words he may have said leaked from his mind as his stern face melted into a helpless smile. Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head, laughing softly.

Sirius soon found himself muttering something he often did when Remus was in the room. "You're going to be the death of me."

"And what a way to die..." Remus cooed into Sirius ear as he lent over, twirling a lock of shining black hair in his graceful fingers before kissing Sirius neck.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Yes, well, nothing doing over here in Author's corner... Pretty quiet these days. HUUAAH!

SPOILER TIME: Now, to torture you all - think of Sailor Moon and that damned thing that she had in the middle of her forehead while transforming.

Weee...!! That's it for now, if anyone has questions/suggestions - please leave them and I'll answer them with the next chapter.

I pose a question to all of you: How many chapters do you think I can write in a row that do not involve sex or sex related things? Leave your response in your comments. (smiles) Make sure to tell me... and don't just leave a random number. Woo.. That's it for now... Off to phone Tracey!!

(Leaves out cookies for Kylia and somerandomcrazyperson - as requested)

Ehrm...

(Leaves out seperate batch for everyone else...)


	24. Chapter 24

"You must want something, Remus!"

"No... I really don't!" Remus held his books tight to his chest, having to many of them to carry in his shoulder bag.

"Oh come on, you have to want something, anything?"

Remus stopped and took in an irritated breath. "Look, James – I don't want anything. Must I spell it out for you? I-don't-want-anything." His lips fell slightly open as he looked up at James. "So stop fucking asking me."

James' mouth snapped shut. He nodded his head slightly raising his eyebrows. "Okay..."

Remus looked down and began to chew on the inside of his mouth momentarily before letting out a deep breath. His eyes found James' as he spoke again. "Listen, I'm sorry... I just don't like birthdays. I never have."

"Yeah, it's alright."

"No, it's not. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm sorry."

James nodded, walking towards their first class on Monday - Potions. Sirius had gone home that Sunday to gather some of his things, so he was to be back later that morning, and no one had seen Peter since Saturday morning. The pair of friends spent the morning class creating a glamour potion, as they were currently doing review for the N.E.W.T's. The Professor kept a close eye on Remus as he had been informed of what had happened on Friday morning.

"God I wish he would stop watching me..." Remus spoke quietly as he added ingredients to the cauldron.

"Well he's only keeping an eye out for you."

"Yeah, I know... but I hate it when people stare at me. I got enough of that when I didn't have these hideous gashes across my face."

"Aw Remus they aren't that bad."

Remus drove the knife – tip down – into the cutting board as he turned to look at James. "Yes they are! It's the first thing you notice when you look at me! Don't lie about it to make me feel better!"

"Well what do you want me to say?!" James held up his hands in surrender.

"Anything but _'they aren't that bad'_, or _'you don't really notice them.'_"

"Fuck... FINE... Remus, all people see when they look at you are those scars, they look _horrible_, and they disfigure your face to no end! You look like a wild beast, a _wild, ugly, horrible beast_. Is that what you want to hear?" James crossed his arms as he glared down at Remus.

Remus was about to speak but closed his mouth and let his eyes fall to the cutting board. He took a deep breath and felt his lip begin to quiver. He closed his eyes, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. "No."

James took a deep breath and let it out through his nose. He placed a hand to his own forehead and left it there for a moment before turning to his friend. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean any of it."

Remus' eyes scanned over their ingredients and the cauldron. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning to look at James. He smiled slightly as he responded. "Yeah."

"We're all edgy right now... with the tests coming up on us and... everything else." James furrowed his eyebrows and looked into Remus' eyes. "I really am sorry. I shouldn't have said that..."

"Yeah, well... that's life. It's fine – I need to hear it... oddly enough."

James nodded and returned to the cauldron – stirring it as directed. The rest of the class was spent in silence. Sirius had returned, looking slightly frazzled. He caught James and Remus between class switches.

"Hey, guys!"

James turned to the familiar voice and smiled warmly. "Heyy Sirius!"

Remus turned, running a hand through his hair. He smiled up at Sirius gently. "Hi."

Sirius exchanged his 'hello's' with James, and watched as he turned to walk down to class. Returning his attention to his boyfriend, Sirius furrowed his eyebrows slightly, watching as Remus turned to walk towards the doors leading out of the school – as Care of Magical Creatures was next. "What, no hug?"

Remus smiled and turned, taking Sirius in his arms. He wrapped his arms around Sirius neck. "You smell good."

"I do?"

"...Yeah..." Remus took in another deep breath and much to his own amazement – began to cry.

"Rem... what's wrong?"

Remus held tighter to Sirius, clenching his eyes shut. Why was he so emotional all of a sudden? His face knotted with emotion as he spoke hoarsely, his voice plagued with tears. "I don't know..."

Remus buried his head in Sirius shoulder, determined to get away from his smell – but it didn't work. He clung harder onto Sirius neck, letting the tears fall. Sirius smiled as he ran his hands along Remus' back, comforting him silently. Sirius held Remus back and put his hands to his cheeks, rubbing the tears away with his thumbs. He looked into Remus eyes and smiled warmly, concern flashing across his face. Sirius ran his thumb along the bottom part of Remus' eye – amazed when Remus didn't blink, but kept his eyes wide open, looking into Sirius's eyes. After all this time - he had just showed Sirius how much he trusted him with a simple gesture of not blinking.

Remus' eyes filled with new tears, and he fell back into Sirius arms, encircling his arms around Sirius' back, holding him close. It seemed that even though almost every part of their bodies were touching – it still wasn't close enough. Remus wanted to somehow crawl into Sirius' body, and never leave.

Sirius held him back again, running his finger through Remus' hair. "Remy... what's wrong?"

Remus laughed slightly as more tears fell down his cheeks. "I don't know. I just..." His words trailed off as Sirius rest their foreheads together. Remus slipped his thumbs into the belt loops of Sirius' pants, pulling Sirius's body towards himself. Remus closed his eyes as he still felt Sirius hands gently run through his hair. "God I'm such a girl..."

"No you're not, Rem." Sirius smiled and lent forward, kissing Remus gently on the lips. "You've just gone through a lot in the past few days – you're allowed to be upset sweetie."

"...Sweetie?"

Sirius chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Remus again, pulling him close. "A reference to the way you taste. You always taste of sweets. Icing, chocolate, cakes..."

"I don't eat cakes..."

"I know, but every time I kiss you it's like eating cake or something... you're mouth always tastes sweet even if you've just freshly brushed your teeth with mint."

Remus grinned into Sirius' shoulder. "Have you ever thought that maybe I have diabetes?"

"I would have seen the track marks Rem, I know what every inch of your body looks like."

Remus giggled a bit before leaning back, kissing Sirius on the lips. "Mhm, I suppose... we should get to class – we're late..."

"You alright, now then?"

"Yeah... I'm sorry about that... I honestly don't know why I broke down."

Sirius clasped his hand in Remus's as they began to walk outside. "Well, then we're in the same boat. I don't know why I started crying when you gave me a hand job the other night."

Remus laughed warmly and lent towards Sirius, leaning his head on Sirius' shoulder. "Yeah... I suppose." They walked in silence for a while, until Remus spoke again. "So..."

"Uh huh?"

"What's this 'some of my clothes are against school policy' idea? Care to elaborate on that?"

Smirking, Sirius stole a look down at Remus from the corner of his eye before continuing. "They're just not proper."

"Is it like the earring thing?"

"...Yeah. Something to that effect."

"So you dress drastically different in school than you do at home?"

"Very much so. This is toned down, _WAY _toned down really. My mother insisted that I get a completely different set of clothes for school to wear – for many reasons."

"And what are those reasons?" Remus smiled as he jumped down a step, leading Sirius towards the class – which lucky for them, hadn't yet begun.

"Ahh... just to keep up the Black family name really." Sirius smiled lazily as he knew he was lying to Remus. Thankfully – Remus didn't show any sign of catching it.

"Oh." Remus sighed slightly as they came to the edge of the group of students. "So James has seen how you dress out of school then?"

"Yes."

"And is he shocked at what you wear?"

"He's never said anything about it before... why the sudden interest?"

Remus laughed airily, crossing his arms as he watched the Professor tick down attendance. "Oh, no reason. I just can't help but think that this 'not school safe' clothing is categorized by you in leather pants."

Sirius laughed loudly, startling some of the students. "Sorry..." He lent close to Remus and whispered into his ear. "What an imagination you have, Remus."

"So you're telling me it's not true?"

"Actually you're-"

"_Excuse me_!" The Professor had turned her attention to Sirius and Remus. "I am currently_ trying_ to teach a class! Please return your attention to me instead of eachother! _Honestly_!"

Sirius and Remus bowed their heads, speaking in time with eachother. "Sorry Professor."

"Sorry _indeed_!" She harrumphed before returning to the bright blue billywigs infront of her.

For the remainder of the class, the Professor had assigned her students into pairs to remove the stinger from the end of the billywig so that they may be sent to the potions dungeon and dried for use in potions.

"Right! Lupin you'll be paired with Malfoy! Black, you'll be with Snape!"

Sirius groaned loudly at the pairing, Remus merely smiled and lent up to kiss Sirius cheek.

"Oh it won't be so bad, just live with it, dear."

"You sound like a wife."

"Oh probably, someone's got to be the smart one... right?" At the end of his statement, Remus' voice hitched slightly higher – sickeningly cheerful almost.

Sirius eyes widened as he growled. "Yeahh... get out of my way woman."

"Careful oh beautiful husband of mine, keep acting that way and your hand will end up rather sore." Remus winked as the statement shut Sirius up, and he turned to find Lucius.

Lucius stood with his arms crossed, frowning down at the bright blue insect. "Get the knife, Lupin."

Remus sighed, "Yes, alright." Remus returned a few moments later, carrying two sharp knifes and a small container for which to put the stingers into. "Here you are Lucius."

"_Malfoy_." Lucius corrected him, his voice low and dangerous.

"Excuse me?"

"_Malfoy_. Call me _Malfoy_." Lucius sneered as he yanked the knife out Remus' grip.

"If that's what you'd prefer Luc... err... _Malfoy_," Remus tilted his head slightly to the ground. "Sorry." Remus quickly corrected himself when Lucius shot him a deadly glare – obviously still quite mad about the fact that they had walked in on each other's personal endeavors. Lucius let his gaze linger on Remus before letting it return to the squirming bug.

"Cut it there." Remus pointed to a place at the backside of it. "And be careful of the stinger becau-"

"I'm bloody aware of where to cut the damn insect and what the effect of the fucking sting is, Lupin!"

Remus raised his hands, signifying surrender. "Alright..."

Remus stepped back, smirking as he reached and caught a billywig in his fingers. He placed it down on the stump, holding it between his long fingers – and, with grate ease, smacked the handle of the extra knife, watched as it flipped in the air and caught the handle in his hand before brining it down to slice the stinger off in one graceful movement.

"Holy shit..."

Remus dropped the still moving stinger into the container and looked up at Lucius, his eyebrows raised slightly. "...What?"

"What the fuck did yo-"

"_Language_ Mr. Malfoy."

"Sorry Professor..." Lucius watched as she walked off in the other direction before continuing what he was saying. "What the fuck did you just do?"

"...Cut off the singer, what's it-"

"No Lupin, Jesus! With the knife!"

"That's a rather horrible habit you have, cutting people off. You really should work on that." Remus reached down and picked up another struggling insect. "And regarding the knife, I didn't do anything with it."

"Yes you bloody well did, you flipped it in the air, caught it and cut off the stinger in the exact place it was to be cut off at."

Remus raised an eyebrow, slicing another stinger off. "...Oh." His answer was rather disinterested as he dropped another twitching stinger into the container.

Lucius was about to say something when a loud noise erupted from the other side of the clearing, causing everyone to look in Sirius' direction.

_"OW! FUCKING CHRIST! GOD DAMNIT LITTLE FUCKING RUDDY INSECT FUCKING STUNG ME!"_ Snape was holding his hand whimpering, when seconds later, his body began to levitate and he broke out into raving giddy laughter.

Sirius stood knife in hand, twitching stinger in the other, looking up at the now floating Snape with wide eyes. He kept looking at the levitating boy who rose higher in the sky as time went on. "Erm... _PROFESSOR!!!"_

"Oh... oh, oh dear..." She hurriedly ran towards the floating Slytherin, using her wand to bring him back down so she would be able to grab onto his ankle. Suddenly – for the first time in her life – she was glad that she was plump, as if she weren't; she would have been lifted into the air aswell. _"REMUS!"_

"Yes?"

"Take care of the rest of the class please!"

"Erm... O-Okay...?"

"Thank-you dear!!"

With that, she ran off in the direction of the school, Snape floating behind her, gripping his stomach and laughing. Remus turned to the class and moved to stand on the stump infront of him.

_"ALRIGHT! LISTEN UP!"_ everyone's attention snapped towards Remus. He spoke quickly and evenly to the students. "Everyone, put the billywig's back into the basket over there, and close the containers with the stingers. Put your knifes back into the same place you got them – and make sure to wipe the excess innards off with a scourgefy charm." Everyone stood silently – not a single person moved. Remus rolled his eyes, yelling at his daft classmates._ "NOW!"_

At once, everyone jumped to the task that had been given to them, and once everything had ended up in the same places it was at the beginning of the class, they all gathered around, waiting for more instructions – including the Slytherins.

Remus had placed his knife back into the place he had gotten it. He took a deep breath – were these people not capable of doing anything for themselves? "Give me your containers concealing the stingers, please."

As directed, everyone handed the containers to him. Once again, after Remus had piled all the containers up and preformed a charm to lock all the containers together until they reached the Potions dungeon, he turned to face the class again. "Stay inside or very close to the school for the remainder of the class please... I don't want to get in trouble because any of you were late for your next class. Now get outta here." He finished his directions with a smile, hoping that it would take the edge off of his voice.

Once again, the class moved as one and picked up their bags, walking off towards the school – everyone had left except for two certain Marauders. They all had half a period spare now before the next class was due to start. Remus ran a hand through his hair, moving to grab his bag.

"Well, well... Professor Lupin." James smirked as he walked up behind Remus.

Remus turned, his arms crossed, and one eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

Sirius stepped forward. "That was really hot how you ordered them all around."

"Careful of your words, Mr. Black – or I may be forced to give you a detention."

"Mmm..." Sirius walked closer, stopping just inches from Remus. "What kind of punishment would I receive?"

Remus thought for a moment before leaning forward. "Well... I'd have to pick the most appropriate punishment for you... and that would have to be..." He trailed off, looking towards the school.

"...Yes?"

Remus turned back to him, looking up into his eyes under his eyelashes. "Nevermind." With that, he winked and turned to walk up to the school, the mass of containers floating silently behind him. Remus heard Sirius and James laugh behind him, before catching up by means of a jog.

"Snape sure knows some rather colorful words, eh?" James laughed, stepping up on one side of Remus, on the other, walked Sirius.

"It was amazing – his face went white as the stinger went into his hand. Gods it was hilarious."

"Well he won't be coming down off that little high for a good long time." James snickered, remembering an incident with a billywig back in 4th year. "God I was messed up for hours. I couldn't stop giggling."

"It was rather un-manly, James." Sirius laughed, jumping up a step. "A giggling Marauder..."

James and Remus laughed as Sirius reenacted what had happened, narrating the whole way through. When it had happened to James – he nearly fainted. He looked down at his hand in terror as the stinger had to be pulled out by the Professor. Not seconds later, he had started to feel his feet lift off of the ground – followed by large amounts of giggling laughter. To make it an even better experience (for the class, not James...) – he had laughed so hard he ended up farting. His eyes went wide when it happened – but he couldn't stop the laughter as the teacher dragged him off towards the school to be treated. That was by far, the best day of 4th year. To add to his humiliation, he had been given a nickname, 'James Tooter', and it hadn't worn off until the end of 6th year – when James went completely crazy on a fellow Gryffindor who yelled it out during the last Quidditch match of the year.

The Marauders had made their way back to the school halls and were on their way to the dungeon to give the Professor the stingers when they bumped into Peter.

"Heyy! We havn't seen you in a long time!"

Peter smiled and quickly pulled down his shirtsleeves, warming his slightly chilled arms. "Yeah, I've been rather busy with homework and such."

Sirius' eyes strayed to his arms quickly before moving back to his eyes. "Oh I see... are you going to come with us tonight to Hogsmeade to get some new dress robes for the Valentines Day thing?"

"Err..." Peter looked at Remus and James who merely nodded in agreement to Sirius' question. "No... I've... I've err... I've got some things to do tonight. I can't make it."

"Oh... alright... well then we'll catch you tomorrow then. How's that? Meet for lunch under the tree?"

"Err... yeah, sure. See you then." Peter smiled and quickly brushed past his friends, waving.

"Odd little thing isn't he?"

"James!"

"What Remus?! He's..." James started slowly. "He's acting really bloody odd these days. He disappears for long lengths of time and-"

"So maybe he's found some friends outside of us that he's too scared to tell us about." Remus suggested, smiling faintly as they began to walk down the stairs.

"Pah... who's better than the Marauders? No one."

"That's rather high and mighty of you to say, Pads." James snickered, silently agreeing.

"Yeah well it's the truth, doncha kno'" Sirius smirked, imitating a thick Irish accent and winking his eye obviously in James' direction.

"You're a sodding idiot, you know that?" James laughed, rounding the corner.

"Aye I do." Sirius continued in the Irish accent. "But I kno' that 'cha find it raather sexual doncha?" He made a scene of slapping James' butt, letting his hand rest there for a moment after the initial smack.

"Oi! Knock it off ya Irish byrd!" James slapped Sirius hand away rather fiercely as Remus laughed – walking into the potions room, leaving the two alone.

"Byrd? You think I'm pretty enough to be classified as a byrd...?" Sirius grinned from the corner of his mouth – raising an eyebrow as he advanced on his friend, fluttering his long eyelashes.

"Ahhh... not in that way, Pads... not in tha – GET OFF!"

James had begun to slap at Sirius' hands, which were currently pawing at his cloak, trying to get a hold of the material. This only caused the smile on Sirius face to widen as he advanced further on his friend.

"Ah come on, you have to admit – you've wondered what it's like to be with a guy."

"What?" James blushed slightly, stopping his protest. "I-"

Sirius' eyes went wide, and he let out an airy laugh. "Enjoyed the kiss with Remus a bit too much, didn't you?" Sirius let his hands fall from the front of James' robes to his hips.

James raised his hand to his hair and then back down to his side. He blushed more furiously as he stammered. "Err... I-"

"Alright, let's go!" Remus emerged from the dungeon room, clutching the strap of his shoulder bag with both hands. "We've got about te..." Remus stopped, noticing the blush on James's cheeks. "What's wrong?"

Sirius smirked at James before winking and turning to Remus. "Not a thing."

"Well I'd prefer if James would answer for himself."

"Not a thing." James echoed what Sirius had just said, turning to walk down the corridor and towards the stairs. "Come on! We've got ten minutes left before class!"

"What's he on about? Why was he embarrassed?"

"Nothing, Rem, nothing." Sirius smiled, pushing Remus in the direction James was walking in. "Come on."

"...Alright."

For the remainder of the day – what had been discovered in the hallway was not spoken of again, but was however constantly being brought up by the means of looks from Sirius' direction. Sirius would steal looks from James, a knowing smile on his face – causing James to go red once more, and, most times, hide his head behind the text he was reading. Each of these looks was carried through with in secrecy – only known between James and Sirius. No one else had caught the glances and immediately followed blushes. The day passed quickly, and Remus, Sirius, and James soon found themselves on their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room to drop off their bags and get ready to go to Hogsmeade, as 7th years were able to go whenever they wanted – as long as they were responsible and allowed for a small bird to follow them – making sure they didn't break any rules or find too much trouble. A new rule just put down by Dumbledore.

"Mr. Lupin! Oh Mr. Lupin!"

Remus turned to find the Care of Magical Creatures Professor striding towards him. "Er... Yes?"

"Thank-you so much for taking care of the class earlier, I really do appreciate it."

Remus smiled and nodded. "Your welcome, but why did you choose me over the Head Boy?"

"Wha? Oh... well... instincts I suppose." She smiled quickly. "I have awarded 35 points to Gryffindor for your earlier performance."

"Oh wow.... That's so great, thank-you!" Remus nearly hugged her but contained his excitement. "Thank-you so much!"

"You're quite welcome!" She placed a hand to his shoulder and squeezed it gently. "I must be on my way now, so have a wonderful evening at Hogsmeade. And don't get into too much trouble – you hear me?"

"Yes Ma'am." Remus beamed as he watched her turn and walk away.

"Remus! 35 points! We've finally made back all 200 points!!" James took Remus into a tight hug. "We're still in fourth place, granted, but we'll get the house cup this year I swear it!"

Sirius cleared his throat, pointedly looking at James. Causing him to blush and let go of Remus. He quickly smiled at Remus before standing back.

"Great job, Rem." Sirius smiled as he began to walk towards the tower, motioning for Remus and James to follow him. "Come on! We've only got so many hours of daylight left!"

The trio quickly changed into 'out-of-school-clothes', and made their way back down to the common room. James wore a pair of faded blue jeans, and a loose dark maroon sweater with the Gryffindor crest on the right breast– the hood still over his head as he pulled the sweater on over his muscle shirt. Remus wore a tight, worn with age white t-shirt over a long sleeve olive drab shirt, and a pair of rather low riding jeans – which revealed his toned stomach if he lifted his arms too high. (And, being who he was, Sirius noticed the white elastic band of Remus' underwear while he was pulling his jacket on...) Remus' shirt fit tightly around his peck muscles – clinging to the skin until just under his peck muscles where it flared out only slightly. Sirius wore a pair of black corduroys, and a simple blue t-shirt with a band's name scrawled across the front of it – and some crude saying at the back, which was promptly covered with his leather jacket.

James pulled his jacket on and the hood out of the back of it, laying it overtop of the jacket. "We'll be back later tonight, Lils... so... see you soon." He lent over and kissed her quickly before smiling.

"Yeah, see you!" Remus smiled, zipped up his jacket, and shoved his hands into the pockets.

"See yah." Sirius waved to her before closing the portrait door.

The three walked in silence for a moment, Remus was in front as he skipped down the stairs, almost happily.

Deciding to test his friend, Sirius spoke up quietly as he lent over towards James. "Stop staring at my boyfriend's ass."

"Well I can't help it! His jacket ends right before his jeans start and-" James immediately slapped his hand to his mouth and went completely red.

"YOU _WERE_ LOOKING! I didn't think you were looking! Holy shit!" Sirius yelled at him before beginning to laugh.

"SOD OFF YOU GREAT PRUDE!"

"Er... what was he looking at?" Remus turned to face his friends. When Sirius didn't stop laughing, and James had buried his face in his hands, Remus furrowed his eyebrows. "Seriously! What the fuck was he looking at?!"

Sirius immediately stopped laughing and stared at his lover. "What did you say?"

"You heard me the first time, now answer the question."

"In a second..." Sirius took a hold of James' and Remus' arms, and dragged them quickly towards the door, signaling for the small bird to jump off of it's perch and fly towards them.

"Let go!" James tugged his arm free of Sirius grip and fixed his now crooked jacket.

"Sorry, mate." Sirius smiled apologetically before turning to Remus. "Anyway... err... James was checking out your ass."

By this time, James had gone even redder, and covered his eyes. Remus' gaze shifted from Sirius to James and back again.

"Stop playing..."

"He's not..." James sighed as he shoved his hands into his coat pockets – beginning to walk in the direction of Hogsmeade. "I was checking out your ass..."

"What for?" Remus turned and began to follow James. "I thought you were straight...?"

"Yeah, so did I?"

Sirius had stepped up beside them, and walked beside Remus. "Suppose he's bisexual, not straight now."

"...Oh." Remus flushed slightly. "Well... umm... I... Thank-you."

"For what?" James turned and looked down at Remus, watching his cheeks pick up more color.

"Err... Thinking my ass was nice enough to look at?" Remus offered shyly, smiling up at James quickly before looking down at the ground. "I think..."

"...Welcome, I think..."

Sirius laughed and wrapped his arm around Remus' shoulder. The three of them walked quietly for a while, the only sounds heard being the twittering of the 'watch bird' overhead of them, and the crunching of their shoes on the gravel road. Remus decided to voice a thought he had kept to himself for a while.

"Why'd you choose my ass to look at instead of Sirius, James?"

The question caught James off guard and he decided to look down as he walked, as if he was trying to avoid the question. "I don't know."

"Was it because I kissed you?"

"I... err... I guess so..."

"So you like me?"

James stole a look from Sirius. Their eyes locked for a moment before James looked down, not answering the question. Remus stopped and became rather relieved when Sirius shrugged his arm off from around his shoulder. Remus instead turned and took James' arms in his hands.

"It's alright if you do like me, James."

"No, it isn't. You have a boyfriend – and he just happens to be my best friend." James looked quickly over at Sirius before looking down past Remus' face.

"Since when does someone else control what you feel?"

James remained silent, though his heart was beating quite furiously beneath his chest, and he hoped with all his might that neither boy would hear it. Sirius stepped forward and placed a hand to James' shoulder.

"Listen, it's alright that you like Rem. I don't care. Kiss him all you want, I don't care. My poi-"

"Sirius, I'm not a plaything you are able to whore around." Remus dropped his hands from James' arms and glared at his boyfriend.

"I wasn't finished. And I know you're not a plaything," Sirius came closer, letting his hand fall from James' shoulder. "My point was, I would rather he kiss a person he knows and trusts than go out and find some one he doesn't."

Remus glare softened somewhat. And though he didn't quite understand Sirius's reasoning, he didn't voice it. James seemed to relax somewhat, but still didn't speak.

"Oh for Christ's sake!"

James looked up just as Sirius came forward, snaking a hand around the back of his neck – pulling him forward. Sirius had pulled James into a soft kiss, and Remus watched dumbstruck as their lips worked delicately against each other's. Sirius kissed James once more on the lips before releasing him and allowing his hand to fall from his neck. James stood silently, his lips slightly parted and pinker than they had been just moments before.

"Why did you... kiss me?"

"Seemed as if it was the only thing I could do that would snap you out of your daze." Sirius stated simply as he grabbed Remus' hand, walking forward.

"You could have just smacked me or something!" James rose his voice slightly as he jogged up behind them before taking his place beside Remus.

"I didn't want to smack you."

"But you wanted to kiss me?"

"Why not?"

"Because we're like brother's for Christ's sake!"

"Maybe, but if you didn't want me to kiss you, then why'd you kiss back?" James had no response, and, feeling rather high and mighty at the silence after he had posed his question, Sirius smiled. "Thought so."

Remus shook his head smiling as he walked, silent between the two friends as they discussed the previous events.

"What's up, Rem?"

"Nothing."

"You lie." James spoke softly, looking at Remus from the corner of his eye.

"It was just odd watching my boyfriend and one of my best friends, kiss eachother, that's all..." Remus kicked at a small stone before taking a deep breath. "We should hurry up."

Sirius and James nodded their agreeing, stealing only short looks at eachother as they walked in silence. The conversation soon picked up when they were a short distance away from Hogsmeade, as James and Sirius had begun to talk about Zonko's. On their way to the locally run robe store, Remus had stopped off at Honeydukes – picking up some chocolate, Sirius and James had followed him there, and got themselves some sweets aswell. They soon found their way to the robe store, and walked inside. They were greeted by the tiny clinking of a bell.

"Ohh! Good evening!" The woman at the front desk erupted into a smile as she stepped out from behind the desk. "How may I help you boys?"

"Hi." Remus smiled, speaking for the three of them. "We've come here in search of some dress robes to wear to a Valentines Day gathering at the school and-"

"You're from Hogwarts then?"

"Yes, we are."

"Well... why are you here? It's not a Hogsmeade weekend!" The woman placed her hands to her hips and eyed the boys with an air of childishness.

"Err... as I said earlier, we're here in search of some robes, and the Headmaster has granted us permission to leave the school grounds for just this night." Remus repeated kindly as he maintained eye contact with the woman.

"Oh I see, I see... well... what is it that you lads are looking for? Anything in particular tickle your fancy?"

"Er..." Sirius looked about the room. "Just, something... I don't know... nice?"

The woman laughed warmly as she led the boys towards a few manikins, which were currently wearing some of the latest fashions. "Any of these interest you?"

James reached out and took the sleeve of a dark red colored robe in his hand. "I like this one... what's it made of?"

Remus felt the fabric and answered for the woman. "Silk, right?"

The shopkeeper smiled and nodded as she pulled the tape measure out of her apron. She quickly moved towards James and asked him to shake his jacket off. Obeying the short woman, he shook it off and handed it to Sirius. The woman measured the width of his back, and from his neck to tailbone. She then took measurements of his arms and around his torso and waist. As she spoke, a small floating quill jotted down the numbers on a piece of parchment. She then moved on to Sirius, and did the exact same things to him. When she moved to take Remus' measurements, he held up his hands and smiled, shaking his head.

"Oh, no thank-you. I don't need one."

"Are you sure?"

Remus nodded shyly at the woman. "Yes, thank-you anyways though."

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and asked if he could take Remus aside for a moment. Taking his hand gently – they moved towards the other end of the store while the shopkeeper busied herself with James.

"Why don't you want anything...?"

"Because I've got a perfectly fine dress robe at the school a-"

Sirius let go of Remus' hand and bent forward. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not."

"Remus..."

Remus sucked in his lips and wet them before speaking in a low voice. "Fine... I can't afford any of these robes... I havn't the money."

"Can't you ask your parents?"

Remus looked up into azure eyes and furrowed his eyebrows. "They havn't got enough money either. They spent most of it on my schooling..." He trailed off and looked down, crossing his arms.

"Oh... Well then let me get you the robes."

"No."

"Remus, please?"

Remus looked up at Sirius and spoke in a still soft tone. "I don't want to take charity... I can't do that."

"It's not charity, Rem – it's a gift."

"I don't like gifts."

"Learn to like them, Rem. I'm getting you the robes if it's the last thing I do." Sirius smiled warmly, unfolding Remus arms and taking his hands. "Okay?"

"Siri... I don't wa-"

"Please let me get them for you?"

Remus looked down and took in a deep breath. "I..." He let out the breath when he found that there was no way to say no. He spoke in less than a whisper. "...Fine."

"Thank-you, Remy." Sirius lent forward and waited for Remus to look up before he smiled and placed a gentle kiss to his lips.

Remus nodded his head slightly before letting himself be led back to the woman. She looked up at them happily, and let out a strangled cry of joy when Remus shouldered off his jacket – allowing her to take his measurements. Once they had all been measured – she asked what type of material they would all like. Sirius had asked for the silk for both him and Remus, James; the velvet. Each of them had asked for different intricate designs, and possibly some different colors of fabric to be sewn in with the robes – she complied happily. Once they had finished, she led them towards the till to ring in their orders. Sirius had more than merrily paid for both his and Remus' robes, smiling the whole time. James paid for his with no troubles, grinning stupidly when she told him that he would look rather handsome once his was finished.

"Thank-you for all your help Miss...?"

"Mari, call me Mari... please!"

Remus bowed his head slightly, "Mari then, thank-you very much for your help."

"You're more than welcome boys! I'll have these delivered to the school for you on Thursday afternoon, how's that?"

"Wonderful, thank-you Mari." Remus bowed his head again, his faint French accent coming out slightly more when he spoke her name.

She blushed as the trio left the store. Remus had become somewhat of a charmer with the ladies it seemed – being completely polite all the time. And, since this was the case, he had a new admirer in Mari.

"Since when have you spoken in a French accent?" James tilted his head to the side as he looked over the slip of paper she had given him; he placed it into his jacket pocket before turning and looking at Remus.

"Since forever?" Remus laughed slightly, quirking his eyebrows. "My family is French, James. I used to live in France and still speak French when I'm at home."

"But you live outside of London..."

"And that's supposed to stop us from speaking French?" Remus laughed slightly at James's confusion.

"... No I don't suppose it would." James turned the corner, and watched as the small watch bird zoomed over their heads.

"It's just that certain words I say pick up the French accent, that's all – and Mari just happens to be one of them I suppose."

"Are you going back to France anytime soon?" Sirius smiled down at Remus, and grabbed onto his hand.

Remus' face paled slightly as he answered, nodding his head slightly. "Yes."

"Oh cool! When?" James interrupted the conversation.

"...In a while." Remus soft voice suddenly sounded very distant.

"Well... that's rather vague..." James trailed off as he looked forward.

Remus merely smiled and looked forward, watching the school steadily come closer with every step. He ignored the look that Sirius had given him when he answered.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

WEEE!! Long ass chapter, eh? Whooooo-doogeh... Anyhow - this chapter took me almost the whole day to write... It had better damn well be good... lol! Just kidding... I don't pull off threatening well, do I? _Also, No - I don't include kissing/light groping as a sexual act thingy-doo-daa... so - keep the guesses coming. (smiles)_ This is fun! You telling me how well you think I'll do! (Remember, Remus' birthday is in a few days.. O.o...! DASTARDLY SCANDELOUS!!)

Padfootxxforever: Ahhh... your entry made me laugh so much!! I love it, thank-you so much for your wonderful review! Sailor Moon was the first Anime I ever watched... and no - it won't be on Remus' forehead... It won't even be near Remus actually. (winks)

Dollface786: Eee... Thank-you for reading, and actually liking my fic!!!! (Did I spell 'liking' correctly...? -shifty eyes-)

Roxanne Barnett: You always make me teary eyed with your reviews... I'll have you know that. (grabs you and holds you in a hug) I'm really touched that my writing has done that for you. Take it from someone who knows - that's a rather hard thing to overcome. (kisses you all over) You're so welcome... LOVE YOU! (giggles and smiles)

Kynny: AUGHAH!!!! (grabs your suggestion and runs away with it... far, far, away) WEEE!!!! I always love your reveiws, they're always so happy! And thank-you for reveiwing almost every chapter. Only a few of you are regular reviewers - and I love you for it! (Something tells me I spelt review wrong every, single, time in this whole Author's notes thing.... -sweatdrops-)

Sarahlouhardy: Thank-you very much, I try to make it as believeable as I can... if it is at all possible. (smiles) Emotions and some actions are hard to describe most of the time... so that you think I do that well is a very nice compliment - Thank-you again.

Yes, well... Ehrm... (thinks of a spoiler....) Err.... Here, how about this: Matching rainbow scarves.  
  
Other than that... I think I've covered everything. Has anyone got any suggestions? Reviews Please also... as always. Thank-you in advance!! 

(Leaves out cookies for Kylia and everyone else, and also leaves out a fridge full of glasses of milk to go with the cookies... and a special serving of butter crackers for Dark Dragon Fire Demon!!) -smiles-


	25. Chapter 25

Remus lay in bed, sleeping soundly on the morning of February 14th. He smiled in his sleep and rolled over, curling up closer to the pillow and pulling the blankets to his chin. As he was just about to fall back into his deep sleep after waking to change his position, the curtains around his bed flew open, causing him to open his eyes wide.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOONY!"

Remus began to hyperventilate slightly from the rude awakening, and soon his wide eyes traveled to the boy who had ripped open the curtains. "Go _AWAY _James..."

"But it's your 18th birthday! I shant leave!" James smiled happily, pulling the curtains all the way open. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"No... go away."

"Remus John Lupin! Get _UP_!"

"BAH!" Remus pulled the blanket over his head and scowled as the darkness surrounded him. "Don't use my middle name."

"Why? Don't like it?" James had by this time pulled the blankets back down again, receiving a growl from Remus. "Come on, get up. It's nearly time to get up anyway."

Remus groaned as he sat up, raising one side of his lips slightly like Elvis as he did so. He shot a glare to James before rubbing his hands down his face. "I hate birthdays..."

"Pish posh, get up."

Remus swung his legs over the side of the bed, and promptly had his face grabbed and yanked to the side, a kiss planted on his lips. When he was released, Remus fell back slightly – his legs flying in the air as his hands smacked down on the mattress.

Remus let out a very irritated breath. "I really hate birthdays."

James merely smiled as he walked over to wake Sirius up. Remus yawned widely, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He paid no attention to his hands – which were violently shaking. His hands always shook, all the time to some degree – but in the mornings it was a very pronounced shaking. No one had yet figured out why his hands shook so much all the time. It had become a part of who Remus was – shaking hands Remus. He soon heard the noises of Sirius waking up, and stifled another yawn as he turned to grab his hoody from the other side of the bed beside his pillow. Remus stood and stretched, groaning at the cracks in his back and neck. He then fit his arms through the sleeves of the sweater and fit it over his head.

"If I have to get up, you have to get up too, Sirius. Now get a moaaahhhh..." Remus waited for his yawn to finish before he continued, and cleared his throat before speaking. "move on."

"Auugh..." Sirius sat up and furrowed his eyebrows. "What time is it?"

"6:30!"

_"AM?!"_

"Yyyup!" James smiled as he threw Sirius sweater over to him, snickering when it hit his head and fell to a pile beside him. "I'll meet you guys downstairs!"

"I hate morning people..." Sirius yawned again, his jaw cracking. "OW! Fuck..."

Remus laughed slightly at his boyfriends discomfort and crossed his arms, waiting for Sirius to walk up beside him. A shiver ran through Remus' body as he stood there. He hunched his shoulders up and looked down at his feet. His socks were sagging slightly – the ends of the sock some 5 inches away from Remus' actual toes. Remus smiled slightly as he wiggled his toes – trying to get the blood in his body flowing.

Sirius stood up and walked towards his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Remus shoulders. "Happy birthday."

"Mmm..." Remus smiled and lent into Sirius warm body. "Thank-you."

Sirius smiled and kissed Remus' lips quickly before lumbering off in the direction of the door, Remus right behind him. The couple went to the washroom and brushed their teeth, quickly followed by Peter. Sirius and Remus had finished, and the two boys then began to stumble down the stairs, Remus' arms still crossed, one of Sirius hands on the railing to keep him from tumbling down and breaking his nose. They emerged a few seconds later, Remus making for the closest chair, Sirius – moving to lie down on the couch.

Remus sat in the large armchair, still leaving enough room for another person to sit beside him. He crossed his legs as always, hooking his right foot behind his left shin.

"How can you sit like that without crushing your nuts?"

Remus looked up in James' direction, and from the corner of his eye saw Sirius laugh slightly as he rest his forearm across his forehead. "...It doesn't crush anything..."

"Why... are you really small?"

At this, Sirius sat up and laughed. "Oh God no, he's_ definitely_ not small. Trust me."

Remus shot Sirius a glare. "Sirius!"

"Just defending your manhood, darling."

"Yeah, you 'defend' it, and then proceed to call me 'darling'?" Remus sulked as he sat back, bringing his legs up and sitting sideways cross-legged on the chair. Remus couldn't help but laugh as he watched Sirius hang his head and pout. Remus yawned once more before speaking again. "Thank-you Sirius, for defending my manhood."

Sirius lips shifted into a smile. "Your welcome."

"Right! Well... We'll wait for Lily and then get started. She should be here in a minute..."

"...Get started...?" Remus frowned. "You had better not b-"

"HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY REMUS!!"

"Oh shit..." Remus bowed his head and uncrossed his arms, bringing his hands up to cover his head and groaned rather loudly at Lily's announcement.

"What was that?"

Remus lift his head up and flashed a fake smile. "Thank-you."

"You're welcome!" She smiled widely and walked towards Remus, pulling him into a hug and kissing his cheek. "18 years old, how's it feel?"

"Ugh..."

"You know, now that you're 18 – and Sirius is only 17... that's considered rape." Peter laughed as he sat down infront of the small fire.

"Is it still rape if I enjoy it...?"

Remus laughed and stood up, walking towards Sirius. He stood and waited for Sirius to sit up before he sat down beside him, curling his knees up to himself, his arms trapped between his thighs and chest. He rest his head on Sirius shoulder as his arm came down around Remus' shoulders, his hand resting on Remus knee.

"Unfortunately – yes, it is. Sorry Sirius." Lily smiled warmly as she pulled out a small package and held it infront of Remus. "Here."

"I told you guys, I don't want any gifts." Remus groaned as he pulled one arm out and rest his elbow on his knee, his cheek on the palm of his hand.

"You can't think that your friends wouldn't get you anything, can you Remus?" James stepped forward, pulling out another box from behind the chair. Why hadn't Remus seen that when he sat down...?

"Guyss..." Remus groaned again. "I told you not to and you-"

"Here you go Moony." Peter set down another package on top of the ones already collected at Sirius' feet.

Remus sighed as he unfolded his legs, resting his feet on the floor. "You really shouldn't have done this..."

"But we wanted to." Lily smiled warmly, holding out the gift again. "Here, open mine first."

Remus' eyebrows furrowed as he hesitated before reaching out. He took the gift from her and smiled. "Thank-you Lils..."

"Your welcome... open it!"

Remus hated birthdays because everyone always stared at him as he opened the gift, and he hated being stared at. He read the little card she had attached and smiled up at her. She had written him in thanks for looking after her when she had the miscarriage. He folded the paper back up again and set it down beside him on the couch. Moving to open the packaging, he stopped for a minute, as every one in the Common Room had now looked over at him.

"Go on, hurry it up!" James smiled as he crossed his legs, holding his knees together.

Remus took another deep breath and opened the rest of the wrapping. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at the leather bound photo album. He looked from Lily to the book and back again. She smiled and motioned for him to open it. As he opened the book, the first picture that greeted him was the first picture taken on the day the four Marauders had met. Lily had taken a picture of them that first day, as she was taking a picture of all her classmates. The four young boys in the picture had turned at once, waving at the camera. Underneath the picture, the words _'The Marauders, 1971 – 1978'_ were scrawled in Lily's soft and elegant writing. Remus flipped through a few more pages, and each section was categorized by each year they had been there. She had filled the whole thing with pictures taken by each of the boys and herself. The last few pages of the book were still empty – signifying for Remus to fill it up with his own memories. When Remus had moved to stand up, another smaller photo album fell out from underneath it, titled _'Woes of the Moon'_. Remus furrowed his eyebrows, as he looked up at Lily. Again, she motioned for him to open it up. As he did – he found a picture of himself and Sirius. The picture was taken the day in Transfigurations when Remus and Sirius were holding hands over the desk. He watched as they kissed eachother, his smile grew as he flipped through the pages. It had tons of pictures of just the two of them together – it even showed singular pictures of both of them after they had the fight, pictures documenting New Years Eve (the truth or dare game... needless to say), and when they had made up on New Years Day. Remus eyes filled with tears as he placed the books in Sirius lap and jumped up to hug Lily.

"Thank-you so much Lily... Wow...." Remus held her close and kissed her cheek.

She held him close and whispered into his ear. "You deserved it, Happy Birthday sweetie."

Remus smiled brightly as he kissed her cheek again and hugged her once more.

"Oi, get off my girlfriend!"

Remus smirked and let go of Lily, leaning back to look into James' eyes. "Why, jealous she gets to kiss me and you don't?"

"Eh... Maybe."

Remus laughed and swooped down, grabbed onto James' face between his fabric-covered hands, and kissed his temple. "There, better?"

"Uhha..." James blushed slightly as Lily crossed her arms.

"You didn't tell her, did ya Prongsie?" Sirius smirked as he watched James's cheeks turn a deeper shade of red.

"Tell me what?"

"Oh... erm..." Remus stood up and let go of James's face, a blush creeping onto his own cheeks.

James shifted slightly, bringing his legs underneath his body as he looked up at Lily. "Yeah, er... I'm kinda... umm... bisexual."

"...Are you really?"

"...Yyyees..."

"Are you bi too Peter?" Lily shot a quick look over to Peter, eyeing him suspiciously.

"What?! Eww! No!" Peter made a face and quickly offered his apologies as three of his friends shot him deadly glares. "Sorry... but no, I'm straight. _Very_ straight."

"Alright." Lily sat down and curved her legs to the side, resting both her hands on her knees.

"You aren't mad at me are you Lils...?" James looked sheepishly over at his girlfriend, fearing the worst.

"No." She noticed how uncomfortable James was and moved to sit beside him, kissing his cheek. "I'm not mad about something you can't control."

James sighed in relief and kissed her cheek back before shoving the gift infront of him towards Remus – who had sat down cross-legged on the ground between Sirius' legs. He was currently receiving a gentle massage. "Here, mine next..."

"...Umm... Okay." Remus smiled as he lent forward and took the box in his hands. Sirius merely stopped the movement of his hands, but hadn't let them leave Remus's shoulders.

Remus read the card and thanked James, setting it aside gently. He then started to work on the wrappings, and as soon as he had gotten to the box it was concealed in, he took a deep breath. Upon opening the box, he was greeted with the collective works of William Shakespeare, each of them in mint condition, and in order in the years they were released. Remus's face brightened as he looked up at James.

"Oh wow... Thank–you so much!" He got onto his hands and knees and crawled towards James, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Thank-you!"

"You're welcome, I didn't really know if you liked Shakespeare or not, but Sirius helped me there."

"You did?" Remus turned and crawled back to Sirius, kneeling infront of him – his hands on Sirius' knees.

"Yeah, you recite his sonnets all the time – so I relayed that to James..."

Remus smiled warmly and lent forward, kissing Sirius gently on the lips. "Thank-you to you too then."

"Yeah... if it wasn't for him you would have gotten a big pile of exploding snaps or something." James ran a nervous hand through his hair as he watched Remus adjust himself and sit down in-between Sirius' legs again.

"That wouldn't have gone over too well, would it?" Sirius smirked, resting his hands on Remus' shoulders again.

"...No, I don't imagine it would have." Lily smiled, looking over at Peter. "Your turn! Hand your gift to Remus."

"Yeah, alright." Peter lent over and handed Remus the package he had been holding. "I hope it's alright... I didn't really know what to get you."

Remus smiled warmly as he took the package from Peter's hands. "Thank-you, I'm sure it's wonderful – whatever it is."

Peter smiled in return and watched as Remus read the card. He smiled again in an answer to Remus's smile when he was finished, and continued to watch his friend as he delicately unwrapped the package he was holding. Remus smiled widely when the contents tumbled out onto his hands. Peter had gotten him a new quill, the small flowing feather was that of a peacock – and a new refill (and very intricate) container of ink sat on a new supply of parchment.

"Wow!" Remus looked over at Peter and there was no mistake the gratitude that hung on Remus' face. "I really was in desperate need of all these things, Thank-you so much!" Knowing how uneasy Peter was about physical contact, Remus merely reached over and extended his hand.

"Yeah, you're welcome, Remus." He took a hold of the hand offered and smiled warmly – glad that Remus had at least enough sense to realize his problem with any human contact, really.

"Wow... that's a really nice container..." James raised his eyebrows. "Amazing gift mate, really amazing."

Peter smiled nervously as he sat back. "Thanks."

Sirius lent down and whispered into Remus ear, his warm breath washing across Remus' cheek – causing him to shiver slightly. "I've got your gift, but you'll have to wait for tonight to get it." He then placed a kiss to the shell of Remus' ear. "Okay?"

Remus merely nodded and looked up at Sirius – incapable, no, not trusting himself to speak as the simple gesture from his boyfriend left him feeling slightly more randy than he had been a few moments before. Sirius chuckled under his breath as he felt Remus stiffen slightly below the belt through the bond. Leaning forwards a bit more to meet Remus' lips; he kissed him a few times before leaning back again - holding each kiss for a few seconds. Remus smiled nervously again, looking at his friends.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Thank-you all so, so much for these lovely gifts... I really do appreciate it." Remus looked over at Peter when he finished speaking. "I really did."

They all smiled and nodded in response, and engaging one another in conversation before the time came to get ready and go to breakfast. The boys helped Remus carry his gifts upstairs, made their way back up to the dorm and were dressed within 15 minutes, and had then went downstairs and sat around talking with eachother while waiting in the Common Room for Lily. It was only now that the Marauders had noticed that the Common Room had been decorated with fluttering hearts and banners, and other Valentines Day memorabilia.

"Man... how didn't we notice the jungle of pink before?"

"I would have to imagine that we were still to damn tired to notice it all, Prongsie. Waking us up at bloody 6:30am? What is wrong with you?!" Sirius yawned again as he finished speaking.

"Ah come on, you would have had to wake up that early anyway. And it's only 7:02am now, so what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that I'd rather wake up to an alarm bird than you shaking me." Sirius growled slightly at first, soon righting his voice when Remus shot him a look.

"Ahh... alright – lets get going." Lily appeared at the stairwell, smiling. "Ohh! Wow! It's so lovely in here, don't you think? I can't wait to see what the rest of the school looks like!"

"...Yeah... I can't wait." Sirius sighed as he stood up, being pulled towards the door by Remus. "I don't want to go to school..."

"Yes you do, now lets get moving." Remus smiled as Sirius' head fell and he nearly stomped towards the door. "Your shoelaces are untied, Siri."

"Wha?" he looked down at his feet and sighed again. "Ah crap. Wait up guys!"

His friends stopped and turned, watching as Sirius bent down and began to tie his shoes. James held the portrait open for Sirius, as Remus was standing beside Lily speaking to her about the photo album.

"Oi! Come on, Pads... let's get a move on."

"Yeah! Just a rudding minute." Sirius soon stood up and flipped his head to the side, causing his hair to gently move out of his eyes. "Impatient prat."

"Indeed I am, now let's go before the Fat Lady starts to think I'm molesting her..." James spoke in an uneasy tone as he glanced up at the portrait.

Sirius laughed as he looked up. "That wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it? She could use a good shag."

With that, the portrait slammed shut – sending both Sirius and James flying to the marble floor. The Fat Lady narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, as she looked down at them – clearly very upset at them.

"Damnit! I think I cracked my tailbone..." James whimpered as he stood up, rubbing his butt. Sirius had landed on his hip, and they all heard the crack.

"God are you alright, Siri?!" Remus dropped his bag and swiftly moved to Sirius' side, hooking his arm under Sirius and helping him to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine... it's gonna bruise... but I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"YeAAOWW!" Sirius had tried to take a step, but was soon rewarded with a stab of pain, as his hip had cracked and the initial stage of his body's shock at the injury had worn off. "Fucking shit OW! Holy shit that hurts...!"

Remus winced as he helped Sirius lay on the ground. "Can... Um... James can you please get your invisibility cloak for me?"

"Yeah, sure... why?"

"Just... please?"

"Er... okay..."

"Thank-you."

James nodded and pushed past the still rather upset portrait and ran towards the dorm.

"Why do you need the cloak?" Lily looked down at Sirius who was now crying from the pain of having cracked his hip.

"Nevermind..." Remus looked down at Sirius whose eye were clenched shut – tears still streaming out from underneath his long eyelashes. Remus reached down and gently smoothed the hair away from Sirius temple. "It's alright, just a few minutes more... Shh..."

Sirius merely nodded as James appeared again, holding the cloak. He was about to hand it to Remus when it was snatched from his hands. Remus quickly spread the cloak overtop himself and Sirius, Sirius' legs sticking out from underneath it – making it look as if they were merely decapitated legs laying in the middle of the hall.

"Keep an eye out, please..." Remus called to James and began work on Sirius. "Come on, lift up your hip for a moment while I undo your pants..."

"AUGH! NO! _GET OFF_!"

"Damnit! Either you do it Sirius or you lay in pain while I go and enjoy the day!"

"Fuckin'... Augh..."

"Why did you put on a belt?"

"I didn't think I'd be cracking my - OUCH!"

"Then lift your damn hips!"

The three friends watched as a leg lift into the air, followed by a loud groan.

"SHIT! OW!"

"Oh stop bitching, I have to pull your boxers down, lift up again."

"Hell no that hurt last time!"

"SIRIUS!"

"Auugh... fine..."

Legs lift again, followed by the same groan. The friends couldn't help but break into a grin.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"You weren't the one moving... HEY! What're you – get your hands off that!" the voice paused for a moment. "Ahh... oh God... that feels so amazing..."

The smiles instantly fell from their mouths as the three friends stopped at looked at eachother, all of them havn't the faintest idea what was happening under that cloak – but didn't want to find out either.

"Just a second... stop moving!"

"I can't help it!"

"Yes you can... Now just... Oh wow... Sirius, _look_!"

James' face contorted into a look of disgust. "Just what the hell are you doing under there?!"

Remus' voice sounded first. "Nothing... Just a minute."

"Oh God..." Sirius panted slightly, and the trio watched as his legs moved.

"Come on... pull up your boxers and pants – I'm done."

The trio continued to watch as the legs moved again, and heard the rustling of fabric. Once Sirius had gotten his pants done up, the cloak was whipped off – revealing Sirius doing up his belt, and a red in the face Remus.

"I don't care what you were doing and it doesn't matter when it ends with you two looking like that." James laughed as he took the cloak from Remus' hands.

Sirius frowned as he thread the tongue of the belt through a loop in his pants. "Oh shut it."

Remus merely stood and held out a hand for Sirius. Sirius took it and smiled as he adjusted his clothes.

"What exactly did you do to him?" Lily tilted her head to the side, looking Remus up and down.

"Err... healed him?"

"You can do that?!" Peter stepped forward slightly, a disbelieving look in his eyes.

"Um... yes, but I can just heal him." Remus pointed loosely at Sirius, who at this point had picked up both his and Remus' bags.

"Wow that's really amazing!"

Sirius smirked slightly. "Indeed it is, Prongsie, indeed it is." He handed Remus his bag and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks."

"Mhm."

"Let's get to breakfast, I'm starving..." Sirius took Remus' hand and began to walk down the stairs.

The rest of the group had followed Remus and Sirius' lead down the stairs, and towards the Great Hall. The whole school was decorated in pink, red, and white. There were small cupid's floating all around, giggling as people would pass them by. Remus couldn't remember the last time the school had been fully decorated on such an occasion. Not even Christmas merited this many decorations. They had soon made it to the Great Hall, but Sirius stopped as he watched Lucius and Severus walk towards them. A smile crept onto his lips that meant nothing but trouble.

"Sirius..." Remus' voice was low with warning as the pair came closer.

"Shh..." Sirius took out his wand and lent on the doorframe, letting go of Remus' hand. "Hey there Malfoy, Snape. How're you this lovely morning?" Sirius smiled at his own ridiculous pun.

Lucius and Severus merely stopped infront of him. Lucius gaze fell from Sirius' eyes to Remus'. He held Remus' eyes for a minute, a very faint – very small smile formed on his lips. Then in a second's time, he blinked and his eyes flowed gracefully over to Sirius, his smile disappearing with the act. "What do you want, Black?"

"Not a thing." Sirius pushed off of the doorframe. "I just wanted to wish you a Happy Valentines Day is all."

Severus raised his eyebrow and scoffed. "Is that all? Then move."

Sirius' lips curved into another smile as he raised his wand. "Ah-ah-ah... Wha'd I tell you about being terse with me?" Within a heartbeat, both Slytherin boys's had scarves adorned around their necks.

Rainbow scarves - matching rainbow scarves. Matching, connected, rainbow scarves.

Seconds later after the scarves had appeared on the boys' necks; a pair of shrill girlish screams rang out through the hall. Lucius and Severus tugged madly at the scarves, desperately trying to get them off.

Sirius stood with a very amused expression on his face when the mortified features of the two Slytherin's looked up at him.

"GET THESE OFF!!"

"Can't do, Snape."

"YOU LIAR! GET THEM OFF RIGHT NOW!"

"Don't listen well, do you Malfoy?" Sirius crossed his arms and laughed as the two boys continued to pull rather violently at the scarves – Lucius had pulled so hard at one point that a choking noise sounded from Severus' throat. "They won't come off until this time tomorrow lads. Get used to each other's company."

Lucius stepped forward, his voice a very low, very menacing growl. "You poor excuse for a pureblooded wizard! You disgraceful little-"

"Now, now, Lucius... do you want me to make it two days?"

"YOU ROYAL GIT!" Severus roared as he lunged forward, only to be stopped by the scarves. The Slytherin soon found himself on the ground – with Lucius on top of him.

Sirius smirked and lent down, whispering into Lucius' ear. "Familiar position, this is... isn't it?"

With that, Sirius stepped over the mass of two bodies, took Remus' hand, and walked towards the Gryffindor table - bowing to his classmates the whole way. What the school didn't notice however, was the sly look Lucius gave Severus as they stood up and promptly left.

"What is _WRONG_ with you?!"

"Oh come on Rem, it was just a bit of fun."

"_RAINBOW?!_ Do you know what is going to happen to us if anyone finds out about-"

Sirius sat down, pulling Remus down beside him. "Ahh, come now, no one will find out! Don't get your knickers in a twist."

Remus let out an exasperated breath as he crashed his elbows down on the table, his head in his hands. "You never think Sirius!" Remus ran his hands through his hair, looking back up at Sirius. His voice rose with every word he spoke. "You never _THINK _before you act!"

"Fuckin' cool down, Rem... Geeze... it was just a prank..."

"No I am not going to 'fuckin' cool down'! You just completely risked the status of our relationship getting out! You've just risked the rest of our year at Hogwarts _Black_!"

Sirius face-hardened instantly as he looked at Remus; his voice was a low snarl. "Do not, I repeat – do _NOT_ call me Black."

"I wouldn't have to resort to calling you by your last name if you used a God damned brain cell once and a bloody while!" Remus' cheeks began to fill with color the longer he sat at the table.

"Whoa, guys... just take a pill – it's alright... no one suspects anything alright? Just... calm... down, please." James interjected – holding up his hands. He spoke in a calm voice – trying his best to calm both his friends.

Remus clenched his teeth together, the muscles in his jaw flexed as he shut his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a breath. Sirius opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Remus holding up his hand. "Don't. Just... don't." With that, Remus looked at Sirius one last time, shaking his head as he stood up, storming away from the table.

Sirius slammed his fist down on the table, causing everyone around him to jump. "FUCK!" He quickly pushed out from behind the table, and stood to follow Remus.

"...Oh dear..." Lily let out a low breath as she watched Sirius storm after his boyfriend. "This is not a good day."

"You said it..." James sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Still fuming, Remus had gotten it to the stairs, making his way to the Transfiguration classroom. He took the steps up two at a time, holding loosely onto the railing as he went. Sirius had seen him from the corner of his eye, and ran to catch up with him. He took the stairs three at a time as he followed Remus.

"Remus!"

"Fuck off!" Remus screamed over his shoulder as he kept going, walking swiftly on the marble floor.

Sirius finally caught up to his boyfriend, and, reaching out, he grabbed onto Remus' forearm – pulling him around. "No."

"Let go of my arm."

"No."

Remus spoke through clenched teeth, his eyes taking a slight yellow tinge. "Sirius let go."

"No."

Remus took a deep breath, clenching his jaw. His eyes hardened as he stared back at Sirius, his face set in a very heated expression, his lip curled up slightly as he stared into Sirius eyes.

Sirius looked off to the side slightly before returning his gaze to his boyfriend. "Listen, I'm sorry – okay?"

"No... not okay. Do you have any idea what you'v-"

"Yes I know what I did Remus! You reminded me! _Twice_! We're now working on the third time!"

Remus tilted his head to the side slightly, very unappreciative of Sirius attitude. "If you knew what the consequences would be – why'd you do it then? And pure idiocy on your part does not count as an acceptable answer."

Sirius looked down and softened his features, still not letting go of Remus' arm. "I don't know why I did. I thought it would be funny."

"Clearly you havn't grown up as much as I originally thought you had."

"Am I no longer allowed to act like a teenager anymore? Do you keep forgetting that I'm only 17, and that part of growing up _includes_ acting childish sometimes? Do I always have to act like an adult around you? God, Remus!" Sirius let out a breath and let go of his arm. "Why do you always expect me to act like you? I'm not you; Remus... _and I'll never BE you._ Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that I don't want to grow up right now, and that I want to have as much fun as possible before I'm forced to be an adult?"

"No, Sirius – I havn't thought about that." Remus' face still hadn't lost its angry edge, and neither had his voice.

Sirius shook his head and looked down, crossing his arms. He spoke as his bangs fell over his eyes. "...Maybe we should spend some time apart from eachother then."

"...What?" Remus voice, and prior anger broke.

"We've clearly changed into different people, Remus. Maybe it's the best thing for us to go through."

Remus' head began to feel light as he shifted it slightly, looking around the hall. His nose began to burn as tears began to fill his eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows as he looked back to Sirius. "You-" Remus began to feel as if he was floating – and his stomach began to twist and knot together. "You can't mean that?"

Sirius looked up, his heart started to pound more furiously. He said nothing.

Remus looked into Sirius eyes for a moment longer before letting his head fall to look at the marble tiles. He watched as a tear fell from his eye and broke on the floor. He took a deep breath and looked back up again. Remus closed his eyes briefly before stepping forward, snaking his hand around Sirius' neck – pulling him into a kiss. What he thought was going to be a fierce kiss ended up being soft and slow. Sirius had responded immediately, meeting Remus' lips with his own, he wrapped one arm around Remus' waist, the other coming to rest on his cheek. Remus ended the kiss, resting his forehead against Sirius. A thought flashed through Remus' mind – this had the potential to be their last kiss.

Sirius spoke softly, his voice little more than a barley perceptible whisper. "I'm sorry."

"Why did you..."

"...I-I thought that was what you wanted."

"Is it what you wanted?"

Sirius let go of Remus and stood back, running a hand through his hair. He looked up as his bangs fell over his eyes – feathered lightly and softly around his eyes. "...No."

"Then... why would you..."

"Because I'm an idiot."

Remus crossed his arms and looked down at the same spot his tear had fallen. He moved his foot slightly and placed it over the wet tile. "Where does this leave us...?"

"In the hall standing infront of each other – each of us at respectable distances of one another... not sure if we're together or apart."

Remus nodded slightly looking up. His eyes flashed slightly before he smiled shortly before biting down on his lip. "I don't want to be there..."

Sirius nodded and took in a shaking breath. To his sides, his hands began to noticeably shake, so he stuffed them into the pockets of his pants. He cleared his throat slightly before answering. "Neither do I."

Remus furrowed his eyebrows slightly before speaking. "Why'd you do it? The prank..."

"Because I live to make their lives hell – as I'm sure it's the same way around with them. Yeah, granted – I should have chosen a better color than rainbow, maybe a soft periwinkle would have been better..."

Remus laughed slightly before drawing his lip into his mouth again, pressing his teeth to the soft skin. "Rightfully, I shouldn't speak to you again."

"You have that choice available to you..."

"I can't yet." Remus looked up into Sirius' eyes – and for the first time, noticed they were slightly gray.

"...Yet?"

Remus lent forward, resting his hand on Sirius' cheek, marveling at the soft skin underneath his hand. "I can't leave. I owe you my life."

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, speaking slowly. "What do you mean?"

"If you hadn't have brought me back last week – I would have ended up dead within 24 hours..."

Sirius stared into Remus eyes for a short moment before leaning down, kissing Remus again. Remus smiled against his lips and kissed back, slowly working Sirius' lips open. Their tongues rolled against one another with seasoned ease, soon falling into a slow – established and familiar rhythm. Remus lightly bit onto Sirius bottom lip before letting go, running his hand down Sirius' arm slightly before letting it travel back up again – wrapping both his arms around Sirius' neck.

"Next time you pull that – I'm gone, Sirius. Life debt or not – one more mistake like that and I'm gone. Permanently."

Sirius nodded against Remus' shoulder, taking in a slow breath. "That's fair."

Remus smiled and turned his head slightly to rest his cheek on Sirius's shoulder – his breath falling on Sirius' neck. Sirius tightened his grip around Remus' waist, pulling him closer. Remus spoke softly, nearly whispering into Sirius' ear. _"I love you."_

Sirius pulled Remus closer still, resting his forehead on Remus' shoulders. _"I love you too."_

Remus held the embrace for a moment longer before leaning back. He kissed Sirius gently on the lips before running his hands down Sirius' arms, taking one of his hands. They both walked in silence towards the classroom.

"Are we okay now...?" Remus snickered slightly as they stood outside the door, he allowed Sirius to push him against the wall.

Sirius placed his hands on either side of Remus' shoulders, leaning in. "Yes."

"You promise?"

Sirius paused for a moment before speaking. "Mhm..."

Sirius closed the small space between their lips, smiling slightly when he felt hands travel up his torso and curl around his shirt collar – pulling him closer. He moaned lightly as his hips fell against Remus' body.

"Well, that's money for me – hand it over, Peter." James smiled as he stepped up beside his friends, who hadn't noticed he had spoken.

"...Shit. That was my last 10 galleon's..." Peter cursed again as he fished the money out of his pocket and handed it to James. "Oi! Stop sucking face and pay attention! McGonagall will be opening the door's any minute."

The two ended the kiss and looked over at Peter and James. Their cheeks were flushed slightly, their lips - larger and red. Remus smirked as he pulled Sirius in again, mumbling against his lips. "5 more minutes..." As soon as he had finished speaking – his tongue had found it's way into Sirius' mouth.

"It's lovely that you're both gay – and that your in love with eachother and all that hoo-haw... but come on - have a little decency." James raised his eyebrow and let out a quick breath through his nose.

"Mmm... jealous, Jamie?" Remus smiled against Sirius' lips before kissing him once more quickly and ducking out from underneath his arm. "Care to join in?"

James smirked as the door opened. He waited until Sirius had moved to stand next to Remus before leaning in and kissing Sirius' cheek. "Maybe later." He winked before walking into the classroom.

"Oi... is that a promise Prongsie?" Sirius called after him as he readjusted the bag strap on his shoulder.

James turned around and smiled widely. "We'll see!"

"That's disgusting." Peter wrinkled his nose and made a gagging noise as he began to walk into the classroom.

"Homophobe." Sirius lent forward and spoke into Peter's ear as he followed him into the classroom.

"Slag!" Peter frowned as he sat down next to James, second row from the back.

"Virgin."

"Prat."

Just as Sirius was about to respond, James cut in. "For Christ's sake, just shut-up!" James hauled out his book and sat down, glaring at Peter and Sirius.

Remus rolled his eyes and said what he was about to before Sirius and Peter had begun to insult eachother. "He's not a slag anymore Peter." Remus smirked as he lightly propped his bag on the tabletop – taking out his textbooks and the gifts that Peter had given him that morning.

"He may as well be, considering the amount of times you two have been caught near humping eachother on the spot. Not to mention every time it's been in public." James lent back on his chair, balancing on the two back legs. He reached his arms back and hit Remus on the head.

Remus cursed and smacked at James's hands, causing him to fall forward on the chair – the front legs slamming down on the stone floor. A very undelightful shock went thought his body – causing him to curse... and very loudly at that.

"Excuse me, Mr. Potter?"

"Oh... um... Nothing Professor. I'm sorry."

"10 Points for the use of fowl language in my class." Professor McGonagall frowned slightly as she turned around. "Open your texts to page 986, please."

The rest of the class was spent quietly, the only sounds heard were the soft, lecturing voice of Professor McGonagall and the scratching of quills on parchment. 10 minutes before the end of class, the Professor had asked the students to put their things away and addressed them.

"As you all know, the Valentine Day gathering will be held tonight," The class nodded and mumbled to eachother in response to the Professor. "And as such, I have been asked by the headmaster to ask you all to go to the Great Hall after classes have ended for an important meeting. Be sure to tell your 7th year friends during the day. It is imperative that you all attend this meeting." She smiled slightly, clasping her hands gently infront of her body. "You may all leave early today – but be sure to be in your next class on time. No doddling in the hallways, and no skipping classes. If I hear anything of the sort – you will all receive detentions based on one person's mistake."

"Yes, Professor." The whole class drawled before getting up and making their way to the doors.

"Mr. Lupin – may I please speak with you for a moment before you leave?"

"...Sure." Remus smiled before turning to look at Sirius, he was about to speak when Sirius answered his question.

"I'll wait for you outside the door." With that, Sirius smiled at him and lent forward, kissing him quickly before turning to leave the classroom.

Remus walked up to the front of the classroom, depositing his bag on top of one of the desks before speaking. "What is it that you needed, Professor?"

"How are you feeling?"

"...Oh, well... fine I suppose. Why?"

"I was just wondering how you came out of Friday morning's ordeal... I havn't had the chance to speak with you about it."

"...Oh. Well I'm fine."

"Good." The Professor moved swiftly and sat down behind her desk. Lightly folding her hands infront of her before speaking once more. "I have come to the understanding that your mother contacted you this past Saturday – am I correct?"

"Yes."

"And am I also correct in the knowledge that because of the severity of your grandmother's illness, your mother has asked that you return to your grandmother's château in France when the school year terminates?"

Remus took in a shaking breath. "...Yes."

"And have you informed your friends of this?"

"No."

"May I ask why?"

"...The timing has been off." Remus spoke softly, his voice near that of a whisper.

"Now is as good as time as any, Mr. Lupin. They deserve to know."

"I know."

The two looked into each other's eyes for a moment longer before McGonagall smiled and broke the eye contact. "Just as well... You are dismissed."

"Thank-you." Remus picked up his bag and turned to leave the class.

"By the way," Remus turned to look back at the Professor. "Happy Birthday, Remus."

Remus managed a smile and responded quietly. "Thank-you Professor."

She smiled once more before looking down at her papers. Remus quickly turned and head towards the door. He grabbed onto the large doorknob and pulled it open, quickly shutting it behind him and heading towards Sirius.

"What did she want?"

"She asked me about Friday morning."

"Yeah... and?"

"...And... and that's it."

Sirius wrinkled his nose as he spoke. "That it? Well she could have done that during class."

"Well maybe she wanted to speak to me in private. I bet you that thought didn't run through your mind."

"Nah..." Sirius took Remus' hand and began to walk in the direction of their next class. "But other thoughts did."

"Such as?"

Sirius laughed slightly before rounding the corner. "Private thoughts."

Remus laughed at this, and snaked his hand out of Sirius. "Whose privates?" He quickly maneuvered his hand towards Sirius backside; resting his hand there for a moment before trailing his hand up to rest on Sirius' waist.

"Mainly yours..." Sirius wrapped his arm around Remus' shoulder. "Some thoughts consisted of James' privates, but most thoughts were dominated by yours."

"Ahh... well that's good to know." Remus smiled as he looked down, making sure to step on the tile, and not on any of the cracks. "How often do you think of James's privates, Siri?"

"Not as often as I think of yours."

"Have you ever thought of acting out on your thoughts?"

Sirius stopped abruptly, a look of shock spread across his face. "...What?"

"Just a harmless question." Remus smiled, as he stood infront of Sirius. "You can't tell me you've never thought of having both me and James in your bed at the same time."

"No... I honestly havn't... have you thought of... me and him – together, with you?"

Remus smiled as he took Sirius' hand, beginning a slow pace as they began to walk towards their next class.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Well, this chapter took a bit longer than I had originally thought it would. Smeh, no biggie. There isn't really anything going on in my mind at the moment - except for the things that will happen in the next chapter. WOOO!!! PARTY! -clears throat- ANYWAY... I'll be updating again a bit later today I suppose, by Tracey's request.

I'm too tired and caught up in Chapter 26 ideas to respond to any reveiws. THANK-YOU all for reveiwing though, means tons to me. And as always - keep doing it. -smiles-

_Spoiler:_ They do this in the next chapter. (They being our favorite couple.) It's the title of that movie - you know the one... the one that Patrick Swayze does the nose wrinkle at the end while he's singing to her. -melts- Ohh...OH the nose wrinkle...


	26. Chapter 26

The rest of the day had passed quietly, and rather quickly after first class. All the Professors seemed to be on the same wavelength – letting all the students go at least a few minutes earlier. The only class they were forced to stay in until the bitter end was Potions. As the Potions Master never wished to waste any time that could be used to better their skills and hone their already attained abilities. In all their classes, they had to take notes. It was as it almost as if all of the teachers had gotten together to discuss that morning – and had all decided that since the students would be having fun that night – they were to not have fun during the day. Homework was set down in nearly every class – expected to be finished for the following day. This however seemed impossible – considering the goings on of that night to come, and the fact that the students had been assigned a 12-inch essay in almost all of their classes. It was certainly known among the Professors that a good portion of the essays would come in half finished – or not finished at all. Only few would take the time to actually do the work.

The time had come for the students to make their way to the Great Hall – as the bell had chimed out through the school signaling the end of classes. All of the 7th years made their way to the designated area, awaiting the appearance of the Headmaster. The four Marauders sat on top of their usual table.

"This is stupid..." James sighed as he crossed his legs. "If it was so imperative that we be here – shouldn't he make it imperative that he is here before us?"

"You don't know why he's late, James." Remus took a bite of his apple, chewing slowly as the juices rolled through his mouth.

"I don't care why he's late – I want to go change." James huffed once more, and suddenly sat straight as he remembered something. "Didn't that... that chick – what's her face, the robe lady-"

"Mari." Remus supplied for him as he held the apple out for Sirius to bite into.

"Yeah, her – didn't she say the robes would be delivered today?"

Remus watched as Sirius chewed. He then smiled slightly as he looked back at James. "She did. They should be in the dorms – probably in the common room."

"What to go see if they're there?"

"James, we have to stay for the meeting."

"Ah... I know... but I'm really excited – I can't wait to see what my robe looks like."

"You can wait another 10 minutes, James – you're not going to die."

"How do you know that?" James eyed Remus slowly, leaning forward. "Maybe we will... maybe there will be a huge fight of some sort – and I'll get stabbed."

"With what?" Sirius laughed suddenly. "An apple core? A quill? Maybe you'll be lucky enough to be smacked over the head with a text before you're stabbed with a quill in the eye – repeatedly... until the only way we'll ever be able to recognize you is just because your glasses will conveniently be sitting near by your corpse."

"Augh... that's so morbid Padfoot." Peter grimaced as he imagined the sight, and James laughed.

Remus stopped chewing at once. "I... I don't think that I want to finish this apple anymore..."

"I'll eat it!" Sirius quickly grabbed for the apple that was handed to him. "I love apples." He spoke as he took a rather large bite, his teeth piercing into the green skin. "Mmm..."

Remus eyed Sirius before rolling his eyes and turning to face James. "Dumbledore will be here soon enough. Infact – there he is." Remus pointed towards the opening door to the side of the row of tables at the front of the hall.

The Marauders watched as he walked towards the front podium, clasping his hands together, resting them on the worn wood. "I apologize profusely for my absence."

Everyone nodded and Dumbledore smiled as he tilted his head towards the 7th years.

"Thank-you for waiting. I can only imagine that most of you had it in your mind to leave?" He pointedly looked over at James – Remus smiled as James blushed slightly as he looked down. "I am thankful that you didn't though. And that shows great respect on your part 7th years." At this, everyone smiled. "What I have asked you to come here for is of course – regarding your gathering tonight. I have decided to make this a bit more... what's the word... Ah!" Dumbledore raised his finger as the thought struck him. "A bit more like a masquerade ball. We havn't had one of those at Hogwarts in years and-"

"What's a masquerade ball?"

Dumbledore looked down to one of the Hufflepuffs, and as he folded his hands together once more, he received the question with a smile. "Well Mr. McGuire, it is a ball – a dance if you will – which requires the guests to wear costumes and a mask to veil their identities."

"But we havn't got costumes..." the McGuire boy spoke again, his voice timid.

"No, you havn't – but you have got dress robes. And I expect you all to wear them." Dumbledore then continued to inform the students of his plans. "As I was saying before, we havn't had a masquerade ball at Hogwarts since I was a mere student and attended Hogwarts as a 4th year, and mind you – that was many, many years ago." He gained a collective apprehensive laugh from the students. "And as my favorite holiday has come to pass – I've decided to hold another one. You will each find a mask on your beds when you return to your dorms. Only you will be able to open the package – and your masks will be in an animal form – and whatever that animal has been known to represent will reflect upon your personalities."

"Why are you holding it for only the 7th years?" Sirius spoke up, rather loudly not at all afraid to interrupt the Headmaster. "Isn't that unfair?"

Dumbledore chucked to himself, and spoke as he reached up – stroking his small beard. "Indeed, I do suppose that some would find it to be an injustice to the other students Mr. Black. But I feel that since this is your last year at Hogwarts and the Wizarding World is ever changing..." Dumbledore trailed off slightly – referring the ever-growing activities of the Dark Lord. "That you deserve this gathering as a gift before you are forced to all become respectable adults and serve as aurors, doctors, trainers, Professors - before you are wished to help, and maintain the Wizarding community."

"Oh... Okay." Sirius nodded his head and took another bite of his apple.

Dumbledore smiled and addressed the rest of the graduating class. "Please be gathered here once more at 7:00pm to enjoy the masquerade ball." Dumbledore bowed slightly towards the students. "Thank-you for staying and listening to what I had to say. You may all leave and return to your activities. See you at dinner."

The 7th years all began to pick up their bags and move to leave the Hall. Remus watched as the door clicked shut after Dumbledore had left. "A masquerade ball?"

"Sounds like it'll be fun. I can't wait to see what kind of mask I get! I hope I don't get something stupid like a chicken..." James jumped off the table and picked up his bag. "Hey! Do you think there will be jewels on them?"

"It's a possibility." Remus also slid off of the table and gathered his bag. "They are probably enchanted to last only tonight – and by tomorrow morning they'll be gone."

"What... the jewels?"

Leaning towards Sirius, James whispered into his ear. "It's unfortunate how stupid he is sometimes..." Sirius broke into a wide smile as he looked over at Peter.

"No Peter... the whole mask..." Remus tried to sound kind but it came out in an annoyed tone, collecting more smiles from Sirius and James.

"Aww... well that's no fun." Peter sulked as the four Marauders began to walk towards the exit of the Great Hall. He paused slightly under the door, looking back. "What do you think it'll look like in here at 7?"

"I have no idea, but I'm sure it'll be bloody amazing." Sirius began to walk once more – throwing the slightly browned apple core into a dustbin. "Anything Dumbledore plans ahead for is bloody amazing."

"Mmm. Yeah, it is." Remus sighed as he began to walk up the steps. "Why don't we check to see what our masks are, and if we've gotten our robes yet?"

"Oh yeah! I totally forgot about our robes..." James perked at the mention of the robes, and began to climb up the stairs before everyone else. He skipped past the trick step – and stopped suddenly as he landed on the step above it.

"What? What's wrong?" Sirius held onto James' arm, steadying him.

"Did... did I fall in?"

"...Umm... no. You're standing on the step above the trick step, James." Sirius eyed his friend suspiciously as he held onto his arm.

"Oh... I could have sworn that I fell through it and dropped something." James shook his head. "And whatever it was that I dropped – cracked on the floor down there..." James looked over the railing. "And started screaming bloody murder. It was a horrid noise."

"...Well... you didn't drop anything, and nothing started to scream." Peter noted as he stepped up infront of Sirius.

"Yeah..." James ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "I suppose not."

Remus furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at James. "What did you think you dropped?"

"I dunno... it was something golden. Like..." James began to walk up the stairs again. "Like – well, it's hard to explain." He paused slightly as he spoke, before continuing again. "But it... well... it looked like a golden egg."

Remus crossed his arms as all four of them ascended the stairs. "That's really odd."

"Yeah..."

"Do you think you saw the future or something?" Sirius smiled as he spoke.

"Don't be daft! I'm not bloody Seer." James frowned at his friend.

"Ahh – just asking mate – just asking." Sirius smiled once more from the corner of his mouth as they reached the portrait. Sirius looked up at the Fat Lady apagogically as he spoke the password. "Balderdash."

She grudgingly swung open after raising her eyebrow and lip in disgust – allowing the Marauders entrance to the Common Room. Just as Remus had expected – three packages were set on the middle of the table in the Common Room. One addressed to James Potter, another to Sirius Black, and the last to Remus Lupin. They all bore the seal from the robe shop they had been at earlier in the week. James nearly squealed with joy upon reaching the boxes. He picked up his own box and beamed with pride.

"I can't wait to show Lily!"

"Yeah, and I can't wait to see your face when she says you look like a fairy." Sirius smirked as he passed Remus his package.

"Hey now, I'm not the fairy in this situation." James smirked as he head walked towards the stairs.

"You may as well be." Sirius laughed as he picked up his own box, walking towards the stairwell. "You're close enough to being gay."

"Only half way," James corrected him raising his chin proudly in the air. "I'm not completely gay."

"And I'm the Queen of England."

"Take out the 'of England' and you're close enough." James ducked as Sirius made to smack him upside the head. He bowed dramatically infront of his friend, his hand sweeping infront of his body. "I apologize your majesty."

"Oh sod off!" Sirius narrowed his eyes at his friend as he turned to place the package from the robe shop on his bed. "Ohh... he wasn't lying when he said that we would have masks on our beds." Sirius gestured to the packages laying on each of their pillows.

James smiled widely as he picked up the package on his pillow. "Dumbledore is the best Headmaster EVER!!"

Remus smiled as he picked up his own package. He sat down on the bed and crossed his legs – placing the package on his thighs. He looked down at the package and slowly opened it – feeling magic surge through his veins as he did so. He was surprised to find that inside the package – lay a jeweled mask in the shape of a deer's face. He had expected it to be the obvious answer – a werewolf.

"What'd you get Moony?" James peeked his head around to look at Remus.

"A deer."

"A deer?"

"A deer."

James frowned. "Oh... You'd think I'd get the deer. Well... what'd you get Pads?"

Sirius looked up from his mask and towards Remus as he spoke. "A wolf."

"Huh..." James raised his eyebrows slightly as he looked down at his own mask. "I got a Raccoon."

Sirius smiled slightly as he lent over and looked at Peter. "What'd you get Pete?"

"...I don't want to tell you."

"Ah come on!" Sirius jumped up and walked towards Peter, still holding his mask in his hand. "You have to tell, we all told what ours were."

"Well you'd find out anyway later, wouldn't you?" Peter spoke quickly as Sirius advanced on him and Peter instinctively shut the package, which lay in his lap.

"Come on! Don't be hypocritical, tell us what you got." James smirked as he sat down beside Peter.

"I don't want to."

"Now, now Wormtail – you have to tell us," Sirius sat down on the other side of Peter, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "or we'll be forced to beat it out of you. Or, simply, we'll look under the paper."

Fear flashed in Peter's eyes for a moment before he sighed. "Fine...I got a chicken."

"A chicken!?" James began to laugh right away. "A chicken! Lord he's got a chicken! Moony did you hear that? He got a chicken!" James fell onto his back laughing hard.

"Oh it's not that bad..." Sirius tried to cover up his laugher as he looked down at the mask.

"Go on! Laugh it up! I don't care!" Peter sulked as he picked up his mask and walked away – leaving Sirius and James in a fit of laughter on his bed.

"A chicken!" James managed to squeal out before falling into laughter again – joined by Sirius.

Remus walked towards Peter and looked down into his hands. "It's not half as bad as you think, Peter. The mask is beautiful."

"Great – I get to wear a beautiful chicken mask to the ball." Peter sighed heavily. "I hate this mask."

"If you hate the mask – then you hate yourself." Remus reminded Peter smiling. He placed a gentle hand to Peter's shoulder. Remus' eyes met with Peter's as he spoke again. "Nevermind them, alright? Your mask is just as good as ours."

"...Yeah, I suppose. Thanks."

Remus smiled and squeezed Peter's shoulder before letting go and walking towards his bed. "Come on you two – I want to see what your robes look like."

"Yeah... alright..." James sat up wiping at his eyes. "Ahhh.... A chicken..."

"Shut up already!" Peter snapped quickly without thinking. "It's not that big of a deal! Just grow up!"

"Wow... sorry." Sirius sat up and quickly moved past James' bed to sit on his own, picking up the box that contained the robe.

Remus smiled slightly as he turned again to open the package infront of him. As he did so, a small letter fell out.

'Dear Mr. Remus Lupin,

I'm not sure why I'm writing you this letter. Oh – silly me! I do know, of course I know, otherwise I wouldn't be writing the letter in the first place would I? Oh dear, I'm getting off track again... anyway; I'm writing to tell you that I spent extra time on your robes. I just decided that I wanted you to look your best on this night. Oh no! That makes me sound as if I am insulting your friends, dear me...! That's not what I've intended at all! All right – before I dig a hole any deeper, I'd just like to wish you a Happy Valentines Day, and I do hope that you will enjoy yourself tonight. Salut, mon cher.

Yours,

Mari'

Remus laughed as he set down the letter. He imagined that Mari would have been blushing madly as she wrote, and berating herself for making herself sound foolish – for making herself sound like a schoolgirl with a crush. He wondered idly if she would be shocked to learn that he was gay. Remus quickly eyed the paper and folded it up, placing it into his bedside table to avoid any other eyes finding it. Once he had muttered the locking spell on the drawer – he turned back to the yet unopened package on his bed. He began to unwrap the package slowly – actually wondering what it would look like. In the beginning, Remus didn't really care – as he didn't want Sirius to take pity on him and buy a new robe for him – let alone buy him anything that Remus couldn't afford. Remus had forgotten about the robes until James had just mentioned it in the Great Hall as they waited for Dumbledore. With a sigh, Remus grabbed the robe by the shoulders and pulled it out. He gasped as the deep auburn robe unfolded out of the box.

All down the front of the robe, on either side of the fabric where it separated, lavish knots and swirls had been embroidered into the silk with a faded, but iridescent golden thread. The fabric shimmered in the light, and to contrast the underside of the deep auburn outside, the inside fabric was a light, creamy brown. Mari had embroidered all along the edges of the hood, all around the opening of the sleeves, and around the bottom of the robe aswell.

"Oh wow... that's really nice." Sirius walked over to Remus' bed and smiled as he reached down to caress the fabric. "You'll look great in it."

"...Thank-you." Remus turned and smiled at Sirius before turning back to his robe and gently folding the fabric up again to let it come to a rest inside the box. He turned again and wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck. "Thank-you so much for... for..."

"You're welcome, Rem." Sirius smiled into Remus' hair and wound his own arms around Remus' slender torso. "You're very welcome."

Remus tightened his hold around Sirius neck once more before letting go and kissing his lips gently. "What does yours look like?"

"Much the same as yours, different color and embroidery though." Sirius let go of Remus and shifted over to grab his own robe. "See? It's a really dark blue, with silver embroidery instead of golden. But they're in the same place yours are." Sirius acted as if he got a new dress robe as beautiful as his all the time. He didn't seem to be amazed at the amount of work that had gone into making his robe. But nevertheless – he was still thankful.

"That's really gorgeous." Remus reached out and took the fabric in his hands. "It'll go with your mask perfectly."

Sirius smiled brightly. "Thanks." He moved to fold the robe up again, and took Remus' hands. "Can you come with me somewhere?"

"Of course."

"Thanks... just a minute, alright?" Sirius smiled. The smile that spread across his face was a smile reserved only for Remus. Remus nodded as the smile caused his stomach to flip, and his skin to rise into goose bumps.

"Mmm..." Remus smiled in return as he willed his heart to stop beating so frantically. 'It was just a smile... he smiles all the time, Remus.' Remus shook his head as he turned to place the top back onto the box. 'It's not just any ordinary smile; it's a smile from the person you love. A smile from the person who loves you in return. A smile reserved specifically for you.'

"Ready?" Sirius' voice brought Remus back to reality. He smiled as he held out his hand. His other hand was in the process of coming out of his pocket.

"Mhm." Remus took Sirius outstretched hand and willingly followed Sirius from the dorm.

"We'll be back before dinner, alright?"

"Yeah!" James yelled back at Sirius, already wrapping his deep crimson robe around his shoulders.

Sirius smiled as he turned to walk down the stairs, with Remus following close behind him.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"You won't tell me?"

"No." Sirius smiled as he looked back over his shoulder at Remus. "As I said before, you'll see."

"That's not fun." Remus pouted slightly as they reached the portrait.

"Of course it isn't! Haven't you figured it out by now? My aim in life is to leech all the fun out of your life and send you slowly driving into the depths madness because of it."

Remus laughed as they descended the marble staircase. "You're a loon."

"I'm not a loon – I'm a wolf. The mask says so." Sirius smirked as Remus walked up beside him. "In any case – don't underestimate the power of a loon."

"Oh? And why is that, pray tell?" Remus looked up at Sirius as they walked, tightening his grip on Sirius hand instinctively as various people passed them by.

"Well, we're dastardly scandalous you know. Indeed we are. Most dastardly of them all."

"Them? Who's 'them'?"

"Well... all the other birds of course." Sirius winked as he looked down, retrieving a laugh from his boyfriend. "Loons are frighteningly beautiful you know – not unlike myself."

Remus smiled as he looked up into Sirius' eyes. They walked in silence for a while – watching each other's eyes - gazing at each other with such vast amounts of love and respect, melting completely into one another's presence. They had reached the door before Remus spoke. "You're one of a kind, Siri."

Sirius merely smiled as he bent down to quickly kiss Remus' lips. He then straightened up and led them towards the lake. His heart began to beat a little bit faster with every step they took, his mind started to buzz with more volume with every breath he sucked in and every breath he let out. Sirius felt his nerves start to build, topping the last nervous sensation quicker than the last.

"Why're you so nervous?"

"What?" Sirius was pulled from his thoughts. He looked down at Remus and smiled.

"I'm not nervous."

"Your hands are shaking, and your heart is beating like mad. I think from past experiences – I'd know when you are nervous or not." Remus spoke quietly, looking into Sirius' eyes as he did so.

"Oh..." Sirius laughed nervously (much to his own disappointment) and didn't dare test his voice again. He merely recovered quickly and smiled down at an ever increasingly curious Remus.

Sirius took a deep breath and ignored the quizitive looks he was receiving from Remus and kept walking towards the lake. Sirius walked through the brush until he came upon the place he hand intended to come.

"Sit down..." Sirius smiled at Remus as he motioned to a place on the ground for Remus to sit. He eyed Sirius before obeying and sitting down on the grass.

"What's going on?"

Sirius sat down beside Remus, on the same patch of grass. "Just... Nothing. Nothing's 'going on'... I just, here... read this." Sirius blushed as he handed Remus an envelope. His heart began to pound at a steadier rate – increasing in speed with every passing second.

Remus took the letter from Sirius' shaking hands and eyed him again. "Siri..."

"Please – read it?"

"...Alright."

Remus smiled before leaning forward, placing his hand to Sirius' cheek. He smiled warmly before kissing him softly and leaning back. Sirius smiled at him as he watched Remus move to open the envelope.

The seal was that of the Black Family. It had been pressed into red candle wax, and broke apart easily. Remus looked up at Sirius once more before returning his attention to the letter. He pulled out the parchment and felt his heart lurch for no respective reason. He unfolded the letter to be greeted with Sirius familiar cursive writing.

_'Remus,_

_You've made it to your 18th birthday! A day that I never thought I'd live to see – you know, what with our – excuse me, my pranks and constantly getting into trouble. I'd never even dreamed to see the day that we'd all celebrate this day in our lives – or the fact that we'd soon all be seeing the last day of Hogwarts not soon after your birthday. There I go – getting off track before getting to the actual point. (I really do need to work on that, don't I?)_

_What I really want to say to you is too hard to actually tell you. I'd never be able to form the words and actually say them to you without turning into a heap of wibbling Sirius Black flesh. (There I go again...) Anyway – what I wanted to tell you was how I really feel about you._

_And before you start to think otherwise - no, it isn't anything horrible – so stop your worrying._

_We've been together for well over 6 months, and only after last Friday do I realize how much you have impacted my life. I never dreamt that the mere thought of loosing you would drive me into hysterics. That must show how much I love you, right?_

_You are, without a doubt in my mind, the only person I'll ever love. Much the same way you feel for me. I didn't think that I'd ever be able to express the way that I feel about you, and I still don't know how. You have made me so completely happy in the years we've known eachother; you've helped me forget about trivial family issues – you've helped me see the big picture (as cliché as that sounds, it's true)._

_Now I know that my words aren't as elegant as yours, and my voice not as strong as yours. But I also know that from the day I met you there was something about you that I absolutely had to know, something that I had to be a part of. Maybe that was just becoming a part of your life. But whatever it was, it's driven me to find out who you are, every bit of who you are. I crave to know everything about you, to touch your body and know what every inch of your skin and body look like. I crave to have you beside me, to feel your lips on mine, to love you._

_There are so many things that I want to say to you. I want to string my words together in a graceful song to proclaim my love for you as you did for me – but that's impossible, right? Nothing can match your amazing words. All I know is that I love you, and will always love you. You've forever become a part of my life, and ultimately a part of me._

_I suppose it all boils down to one thing, doesn't it?_

_What I wanted to ask you is if you'll be mine – not just for now, but for as long as it takes for the world to lie down and be still._

_-Sirius'_

As Remus looked up from the parchment, his eyes found a small box – and inside, lay a simple golden band nestled in black velvet.

"I'm not asking you to marry me... I'm asking you to wear this ring as a symbol of love for me... or something like that." Sirius spoke in a shaking tone; his eyes clear as he laughed nervously.

"...Sirius..."

"I know it looks stupid... It must look stupid." Sirius began in the same shaking voice. "Me – holding out a ring for another person and asking them to wear it because I love them..."

"It's not stupid Sirius." Remus smiled as he reached forward to brush the hair out of Sirius' eyes. "It's something that I'd never expect to happen, but it's not stupid."

Sirius smiled slightly at the touch and looked up into Remus' eyes, his hands still trembling – his heart racing faster now than it had before. "Do... will you wear it then?"

Remus broke out into a smile as he lent forward and kissed Sirius' lips. "Of course I will."

Sirius let out the breath he had been holding as he picked the ring out of the box. He moved to take Remus hand and fit the ring onto his finger. After he had done so, he brought Remus' hand up to his lips and kissed the ring. Remus smiled and wrapped his arms around Sirius neck, pulling him into a tight hug. The two sat in an embrace for a long while before Sirius pulled back, his chest vibrating with slight laughter.

"This is so cheesy."

"What do you mean?"

"Bringing your lover down to the lake, and all but proposing to them and giving them a letter that proclaims your love for them. Then, when they've finished reading – they look up to see a ring sitting infront of them..." Sirius shook his head as he spoke.

"But you didn't propose." Remus reminded him before leaning in and kissing him lightly. "And I don't are how cheesy it is, I loved every second of it. You keep forgetting that when you're in love – everything is cheesy." He kissed Sirius again before turning and resting his back against Sirius' chest.

"Yeah..." Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus, resting his cheek on Remus' head. The two sat in silence for a minute, listening to the quiet lapping of the water on the shore – and the songs of the birds in the trees. "C-can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"When you said you were going back to France... how soon is 'in a while'...?"

Remus froze. He felt his heart beat quicken beneath his breast as he drew in his lips. He forced himself to sit up and face Sirius when he eventually spoke. "In a while loosely translates into 'I'll be going back to France with my parents as soon as the school year is over'."

"...What?"

Remus looked down as he wove his fingers in Sirius'. "I'm leaving England. I'm moving back to France to stay with my grandmother. She has requested that my family comes to see her and live with her before she dies."

The silence that Remus received after he spoke was unnerving, and when he looked up, his eyes met with a face contorted with pain.

"So... so that means that after graduation – we won't... we won't..." Sirius took a deep breath as he looked down. He furrowed his eyebrows – feeling tears come to his eyes. "We won't see eachother again?"

"No, we will." Remus placed a hand to Sirius cheek. "We will see eachother again. I'll make sure of it. I promise you that I won't let that happen."

"Don't make promises that you can't keep... well... promises that you're not sure you can keep." Sirius looked down again, his bangs falling over his eyes to shade the falling tears.

"Sirius..." Remus forced Sirius to look up at him as he loosely clutched Sirius' chin with his right hand. "Remember this?" Remus held up his left hand, the golden band caught the sunlight and began to shimmer. "What does this mean?"

"...That you'll be with me until the world is still."

"Exactly." He placed both his hands to Sirius' cheeks, holding his head gently. "Don't doubt the promise I've just made to you. You of all people should know that I always keep my promises."

Sirius broke out into a smile as he spoke. "There was that time in 4th year when you-"

"Stop trying to cover up what you feel with humor, Sirius. You don't need to do that around me."

Sirius immediately snapped his mouth shut and sucked in his lips, biting down on them as he dropped his eyes. "Force of habit."

Remus smiled when Sirius didn't apologize. He then rubbed his thumb across Sirius' cheek, wiping away a tear. "I know. Old habits die hard." He lent forward and kissed Sirius lips gently before speaking again. "We'll be alright, Siri."

Sirius nodded faintly before leaning in, taking Remus in his arms, his eyes tearing up again. "I feel so stupid when I cry..."

Remus smiled against Sirius cheek as his hands laced into Sirius hair, rubbing the same place he had rubbed when James was crying that day in the hallway. "Don't... emotion is a natural thing to show."

"I hate showing it though."

Remus turned his head and kissed Sirius' cheek before returning his cheek to its prior position. "When you feel comfortable and secure enough around me to let your barriers down... Sirius that means so much more to me than your words."

Sirius let out a small single syllable laugh as he held Remus closer to his body. He then took a deep breath and lent back rolling his neck. His eyes found Remus' and he smiled. "How did I end up with someone like you?"

Remus smiled, his eyes closing slightly as he tilted his head to the side. "I don't know... but I do know that I'm thankful that you did."

Sirius ran his thumb over Remus bottom lip, his eyes following his thumb. He then closed his eyes and lent forward, gently meeting Remus lips with his own. The two met each other's lips repeatedly for a while with slow kisses, savoring the taste of one another's mouths.

Remus smiled against Sirius lips as one of many kisses ended. "Do I still taste like sweets?"

"I don't know, I'd have to find out..." Sirius smiled as he lent forward, lips opened slightly.

He wasn't prepared to have his own tongue met by Remus', the sudden warmth on his own tongue sending shivers through his body. Once he had relaxed into the kiss, he playfully ran his tongue along Remus' lips, slowly moving his way into Remus' mouth. He opened his lips wider as he found Remus' tongue with his own, pushing it gently into Remus mouth. Remus responded with a slight smile as he lent back only a little, wrapping his arms around Sirius' neck, pulling Sirius closer to deepen the kiss. Sirius moved his tongue in time with Remus' as he allowed himself to be pulled down by his lover. He shifted his hips slightly to rest his hips over Remus'. Remus raised one leg, propping this thigh against Sirius' hip and as they continued to kiss, Remus involuntarily thrust his hips up against Sirius gaining a slight moan before it was lost in a tangle of tongues. Remus ended the kiss and moved to kiss just under the point of Sirius' jaw, lightly dragging his tongue against the soft flesh.

"You didn't answer my question..." He ended his statement by kissing the shell of Sirius' ear.

Sirius propped himself up on one elbow in a single graceful movement, his other hand wound around Remus' chin, slightly pulling his head to the side so he would be able to kiss his neck. Sirius rest his thumb against Remus' lips – and tried his best not to show his surprise when Remus greeted the flesh with his lips, slightly taking the finger into his warm mouth. "What" he kissed Remus neck, sucking lightly at the skin. "question?"

Remus shivered as Sirius' warm breath fell against his neck and smiled. "Whether-" Remus breath caught in his throat making a quiet, shaking gasping noise as he felt Sirius slowly move away the fabric of his shirt and kiss the newly exposed flesh. "Whether I still taste sweet or not..." He kissed Sirius thumb again, enjoying the salty flavor that met his tongue.

"Ahh... that question..." Sirius kissed his neck again, slowly moving towards Remus' mouth. He placed one last kiss on Remus' chin before moving up to kiss Remus' lips. Lightly running his tongue against Remus', he whispered against Remus' lips. "Yes, you still taste like sweets..."

"Hmmm..." Remus laughed slightly as he ran his hand along Sirius' back, pulling him closer to his chest. He lent up and pulled Sirius into another kiss, curling his free hand around Sirius' neck. Before ending the brief kiss, he lightly nipped at Sirius' lip before finishing the thought he had nearly lost. "As much as I hate to end this..." He met Sirius' lips in another kiss, lifting his hips up again to meet Sirius' hips, which responded to the movement and pushed down. "And I do, but we have to get back to the castle..." Another kiss. "and dinner is going to be served soon..."

"I'm not hungry..." Sirius made a point of lightly grinding his hips against Remus, smiling when Remus moaned at the movement.

"God help me if we don't get up now..." He rolled his head to the side as his eyes slid shut, letting his lips fall open in wordless gasp when Sirius kissed his neck again. "We have to get up now..."

"Mmm... Why?" Sirius didn't stop his kisses.

"Because I don't want... don't... don't want leaves in my hair... and gra... grass stains on m-my clothes..." Remus spoke in a near whisper, gasping slightly with almost every time he paused.

"Then we'll make it the other way around... I'll get leaves in my hair and grass stains on my clothes." Sirius smiled as he looked into Remus' eyes. His lips were full and quite pink as he lent forward.

Remus placed a finger to Sirius lips. "No... If you kiss me again – then it'll happen."

"Don't you want it to?"

"God yes but not here... not now..." Remus took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly as he kept his finger to Sirius' lips. "Come on... lets go..." Remus pushed Sirius up slightly with his free hand, amazed that Sirius actually moved.

Sirius sat up and watched as Remus ran a hand through his hair, picking out the already present leaves. His eyes traveled down Remus' torso until they reached his crotch. He smiled as he looked back up at Remus. "I never knew that kissing did it for you."

"We've never waited long enough to find out that it did, rather, does - apparently." Remus voice started somewhat strong but ended in a quick and airy tone. His already flushed cheeks filled with more color as he looked down and pulled his shirt straight. He ran his tongue over his lips before speaking again. "Come on... we had better go now before I do something stupid."

"Oh... like what?"

Remus stood up and offered Sirius a hand. His voice was soft as he raised his eyebrows, challenging Sirius' eyes. "Like fucking you senseless in the middle of the woods... in plain view of the castle."

Sirius took the offered hand and grinned. "I wouldn't mind getting kicked out because of that,"

"I would." Remus smiled slightly as they began to walk towards the castle. "Are all the leaves out of my hair?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Remus?"

"Sirius?"

Sirius looked down and smiled as they walked towards the castle, hand in hand. "Thanks for taking the ring."

"It's not a matter of me just taking it... it's a matter of me accepting it and-"

"Remus..."

"...Sorry." He smiled up at Sirius apologetically before clearing his throat. "Your welcome?"

"That's better... I don't think you need to get all technical about saying 'your welcome'."

The two made their way up to the castle, and towards the Great Hall for dinner. They hadn't realized just how much time had passed since they left the dorm, but apparently – it was already 5:30pm – dinnertime. Dinner had come early that night – as the Great Hall had to be prepared for the masquerade ball in an hour and a half.

As they walked towards the large oak doors, Sirius spoke softly into Remus' ear. "When you asked if I had ever thought of having you in my bed with James... and you smiled when I asked it in return... umm... what did that smile mean?"

"What smile?" Remus paused for a moment as they passed under the doors. "Oh!" He smiled as he looked up at Sirius. "It was just that."

"Just what?"

"Just a smile."

"So... you don't want to... um... you know, get it on with me and James at the same time?"

"Lord of course not!" Remus laughed slightly as they began to walk up the length of the Gryffindor table. "I'd never want to have sex with James... it's too weird. Besides – I'm not about to share you with anyone. Not even James." Remus paused for a moment. "And if I can help it, not with your hand either."

Sirius broke into a bout of warm laughter as they sat down. "Well I'm glad to know that you don't want to share me with my hand."

"What's that?"

"Nothing James. Absolutely nothing." Remus jumped in before Sirius could speak. He smiled as he lent sideways to whisper into Sirius' ear. "And I only kiss him because he's got really soft skin and lips."

"What?!" Sirius laughed slightly. "And I don't?"

"No, you do... of course you do. God your skin is so completely gorgeous – but with" Remus cleared his throat slightly. "it's different... you know?"

"Yeah. It is." Sirius held out his hand towards Remus. "All is forgiven."

Remus smiled, taking Sirius' hand. "All is forgiven."

"What in God's name are you two talking about? What is it with these couples who speak in code these days?" James lifted one eyebrow, while the other was lowered. He placed his fork into his mouth after he finished speaking.

"Code...?" Sirius looked over at Remus. "We were talking in code?"

"...Apparently so." Remus raised his eyebrows and scooped some potatoes onto his plate, then scooping the same amount – if not more, into Sirius' plate. "Then again, it would seem like code considering he hasn't got a clue what we're talking about."

"Point taken." Sirius smiled in thanks as Remus set down the dish holding the potatoes. He then picked up a bowl of mixed vegetables and dished it onto both his and Remus' plates. "Then again, would he want to know what we were talking about?"

"No, I don't believe that he would." Remus sliced a bit of butter off of the block and let it melt from his fork to fall onto Sirius' vegetables. He then did the same to his own vegetables.

James sat with a blank expression on his face, watching as Sirius and Remus served each other dinner as if it was a normal, practiced occurrence. He was about to speak but couldn't find anything to say as Sirius asked Remus what kind of meat he would like – light or dark being the choices. James furrowed his eyebrows as Sirius placed a piece of white meat onto Remus' plate, and dark onto his own. James sat with his elbow on the table, with his fork in his hand. He continued to watch as Remus poured gravy over his potatoes and meat, then handing the container to Sirius, James watched as Sirius did the same. James cleared his throat, causing both Sirius and Remus to look up.

"...What?" Remus halted the shaking of salt onto his vegetables.

"You two... are very odd." James' serious face melted into a smile as he looked down, stabbing another forkful of mashed potatoes. "Very odd indeed."

"What did we do?" Sirius looked over to Remus and then back to James. "Honestly, what's so odd about dishing out your dinner?"

James finished chewing before he spoke again, and when he did – he pointed his fork towards the couple. "The fact that you served it to eachother is the odd part."

"We... we did?" Remus sat back slightly, still holding the saltshaker in his left hand.

"Uh-huh." James shook his head as he took a swig of his drink and looked at Sirius. "Remus did the potatoes and butter, Sirius you did the vegetables, and asked whether or not he wanted light or dark meat, and when he answered you served it to him." James then looked over at Remus. "Then, when you spotted the buns – you picked two up, placed one on his plate and the other on yours."

"He's right. You did exactly that." Peter laughed slightly at the expressions on the two Marauder's faces.

Sirius and Remus turned to look at each other; they then both looked at their plates and back at eachother.

Sirius raised his eyebrows as he spoke. "...Fancy that."

"Is... Is it a bad thing?" Remus turned to look at James, worry lancing across his fine features.

"No. It's not a bad thing, it's just... a weird thing." James laughed at the expression on Remus' face. "I've just never seen anyone serve eachother dinner, that's all."

"...Oh." Remus raised his eyebrows as he looked down at his plate.

Sirius took this break in the conversation to voice his question. "Do we do it all the time?"

"I dunno, but this is the first time I've noticed it." James smiled as he nudged Peter's arm. "Have you noticed it before?"

"Nope. First time for me too." Peter smiled shyly as he took a sip of his drink. "We should hurry up and finish... it's nearly 6 and I still need to shower."

"That... has got to be the most unfortunate mental image I've had to date..." Sirius sighed as Peter threw him a glare.

Dinner ended quickly as Dumbledore had requested for it to. And the students had completely vacated the Hall by 5 minutes after 6. All of the 7th years made their ways back to their dorms – all going to shower. It never ceased to amaze Remus how much hot water was actually used during one day at Hogwarts – but then again, this wasn't an ordinary place. Magic surely would have something to do with it. To save on space, Sirius and Remus shared a shower stall – considering most of the multiple stalls were currently occupied. Sirius and Remus grinning widely when James and Peter made a face at the suggestion. Remus tried his best not to advance on Sirius – and Sirius tried his best to stop any advances that had slipped by even with Remus' close monitoring on himself. They finished showering quickly – being the last four out of the stalls, and soon they all stood in towels, drying themselves off.

"I can't wait for tonight, you know." James picked up a second towel and began to dry his hair.

"Yes Prongsie, we know. You simply cannot wait to see Lily, nor can you wait for tonight OR to put on your new robe." Sirius laughed as James narrowed his eyes at him. "What kind of material was it?"

James paused for a moment before speaking. "Err... it was velvet. Why?"

"Just a harmless question." Sirius smirked as he looked past James towards Remus.

Remus was wearing a pair of black silk boxers, and stood facing the mirror, sighing as he looked at the scars across his face. They had faded to dull fleshy-silver markings, and when they caught the light – it only worked to make them more noticeable. Sirius' eyes roamed over his boyfriend's body, and he smiled. The way Remus' muscles glided almost effortlessly under his peachy-golden skin caused Sirius' heart to flutter. He loved the delicate curve of Remus' back, and loved the way his hipbones jutted out slightly – begging to be kissed and caressed. Remus' arms weren't skinny, neither were they large. They were somewhere in the middle – with just enough lean muscle mass to make a difference, and just enough slenderness to make his limbs look long and graceful. Sirius caught himself blushing as he watched Remus raise his arms to dry his hair further with his towel. The hair under his arms seemed to not even be there – and was only perceptible from the side at most times. Infact, all of the hair on Remus' body was close to his skin tone – if not his exact skin tone and this made it look as if Remus didn't have body hair at all. His chest was smooth and hair free – and the hair on his arms was thin and soft. Remus held the towel over his head as his body curved with a stretch, and, when the stretch ended – he rotated his shoulders and neck, releasing any built up energy. Remus then turned and threw the towel into the hamper, looking back into the mirror after he had rotated back to his original position. He sighed once more, puckering his lips slightly and he actually smiled at his reflection before rubbing his hands over his face. Remus jumped slightly when he felt arms encircle his waist.

Sirius kissed his shoulder lightly. "You smell good."

Remus smiled and turned his head slightly, looking into the mirror at both his and Sirius' faces. Sirius placed his cheek near Remus' ear and smiled wider than he had been before.

"We look good together."

"We do?"

"Yeah." Sirius smiled once more, flashing his white teeth before kissing Remus' cheek. "We had better start getting ready before we end up late."

Remus nodded as he followed Sirius out of the bathroom, and into the dorm. Remus was only aware of the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt when he stepped foot into the dorm. All eyes flashed over in his direction – gawking at the scars on his chest, arms, and back.

"Jesus I never thought Remus for a cutter..."

"How'd you think he got all those scars?"

"That's _disgusting_... someone cover it up!"

Remus felt his face flush as Sirius stepped infront of him, pushing him towards his bed. He forced Remus to sit down on the bed while he pulled the curtains closed, leaving only the side Remus was on open. When Sirius turned back to look at his mate, he found him with his knees up to his chest crying.

"Rem...?"

"I can't believe how careless I was... oh God..." Remus sniffed loud enough for everyone to hear, causing the room to fall silent.

"Shh... it's okay..." Sirius tried to take Remus in his arms but was brutally shoved back.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"Remus... Remus just... please..."

"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Remus rolled onto his side and curled up into a ball, his ragged sobs being absorbed by the pillow. Remus spoke through his hands, repeating what he had just said. "Don't touch me... don't... t-t-touch me..."

"Remus... sweetie... please... It's alright..." Sirius moved to sit on the bed. He placed his hand to Remus' shoulder, and was amazed when Remus didn't shove it off – or even twitch to make the contact end.

"They... they saw... and... _God_... they, they..."

"Shh..." Sirius rubbed his thumb across Remus' shoulder, and was completely taken aback when Remus turned around abruptly – launching himself into Sirius' arms.

Sirius soothingly pulled Remus close, letting the tears fall over his skin. He ran his hand tenderly along Remus' spine, rocking back and forth slightly to calm his lover. Remus had begun to quiet down only slightly when a 7th year poked his head around the corner. When Remus heard him speak, he met the boy's eyes.

"Listen, I'm... I'm really sorry for, you know... saying you were disgusting... because your not. You really aren't Remus."

Remus nodded his head slightly before burying it again into Sirius' shoulder, tightening his grip on Sirius' shoulders. The boy continued to stand where he was, watching the couple. He bowed his head and frowned slightly before speaking again.

"I really am sorry, Remus. Please accept my apology."

"Yeah, mine too..." The boy who had pegged Remus for a cutter stood forward with his arms crossed. "I'm sorry, Remus."

The third person, whom had asked where Remus got all the scars, had not stepped forward, but his voice rang out through the room sounding strained. "Sorry, Remus!!!" a muffling sound followed. "Get off! I said I was sorry!"

"Did you mean it?"

"YES! YES I MEANT IT! REMUS I MEANT IT! I'M REALLY SORRY!" The boy choked slightly before the grip on his clothes was released.

"Good. Because I do not, I will not stand idly by when one of my friends has been hurt." James growled as he stared down at the boy, his eyes narrowed – his voice dangerously serious.

"Could you two just... please leave...?" Sirius addressed the two boys still standing behind him.

"Yeah..."

"Uh-huh."

The boys both turned at the same time, leaving Sirius and Remus alone. Sirius gathered Remus up in his arms and lay him down on the bed. He then grabbed his wand, closed the curtains, and muttered a silencing charm as he did so. He placed his wand at the foot of the bed before crawling up to lay beside Remus. He wrapped his arms around Remus' slight frame, and drew Remus's back against his chest.

"I'm sorry."

"...Wha-what for?"

"For not being able to protect you, and..." He spoke quietly against Remus' neck - his breath sending shivers down Remus' body. "not being able to stop you from feeling this pain you don't deserve to feel."

Remus smiled slightly before turning to face Sirius. He folded one arm under his chest and placed his free hand on Sirius' cheek. "You don't need to apologize for something you didn't do."

"I know, but..."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Sirius."

Sirius looked up into Remus' eyes, his long eyelashes brushing against his bangs. "It's just... I hate seeing you upset, and knowing that it was in my power to stop you from feeling the way you do right now." He looked down again, feeling Remus' thumb lightly stroke across his cheek.

"Sirius... You can't protect me all the time. It's a given that they would have all seen my scars at some point during my school years... I just wasn't prepared for it to be today." Remus managed a smile, causing the tears pooled in his eyes to fall down his cheeks.

Sirius blinked once before looking back up into Remus' eyes. "How did this turn from me comforting you, to you comforting me?"

Remus laughed slightly as he lent forward, lightly kissing Sirius' lips. "I don't know... but it doesn't matter."

"Yes it does... I was supposed to be the one helping you... and... instead... you became the one to help me? It's not supposed to work that way."

"Well... I suppose, in a way, I've helped myself." Remus smiled as he continued to rub his thumb against Sirius' cheek.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... In an attempt to help you, I helped myself – by saying that they were bound to see the scars sometime in my school year. I don't think I would have realized that before if the roles hadn't switched."

"...Oh." Sirius sat up, running his fingers across his eyelids before crossing his legs underneath him and clasping his hands together.

"Je t'aime," Remus sat up himself, his voice soft as he wrapped his hands around Sirius torso, resting his cheek against Sirius' shoulder.

"What?"

"It means 'I love you', it's F-"

"French."

"Mhm." Remus kissed Sirius' shoulder, in order to calm himself down. He found it odd that kissing Sirius always calmed his nerves.

Sirius placed his hands over Remus' and lent back, kissing Remus briefly, then he whispered against his lips with his eyes still closed. "Je t'aime," He placed his lips against Remus once more before leaning back, smiling. "We should get ready for tonight."

Remus couldn't help but smile at the fact that Sirius had repeated 'I love you' back to him in French. This simple gesture sent Remus to the moon and back, and made him completely forget about what had just happened. He loved the sound of the words rolling off of Sirius tongue – and delighted that the familiar words were directed at him, and would only ever be directed to him, and him alone. "Yes... we should."

Sirius smiled and moved to get up, only to be held back by Remus' arms. "What's wrong?"

"Say that to me again."

"Err... What's wrong...?"

Remus smiled as he lifted one hand up to cup on Sirius' cheek. "No... before that."

Sirius was about to say 'we should get ready for tonight', before he smiled and lent forward, his was soft as his breath fell across Remus' lips. "Je t'aime."

Remus smiled in spite of himself before leaning forward to kiss Sirius. When the kiss ended, Sirius spoke in the same quiet tone as before.

"Why did you want me to say that again?"

Remus let his hand fall from Sirius' face. "I havn't heard anyone speak French in the longest time... and... I've never had anyone tell me they love me in French and really mean it."

"Really...?" Remus nodded, and Sirius continued. "Then from now on, I'll only tell you that I love you in French."

Remus laughed slightly before sitting back, trailing his hand along Sirius' torso. "You don't have to do that."

"I want to."

"Why?"

Sirius smiled gently as he looked into Remus' eyes. "Because it makes you happy."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

YEAHIUNA.... LORD... I'm so sorry for taking about a millenium and a half for this chapter to be finished... I got sidetracked, I procrastinated, and then sidetracked myself some more. I couldn't keep going on with this chapter - or I'd turn out to be overkill, yanno? Anyway, Chapter 25's clue will occur in Chapter 27. (OMG... 27 chapters?! -faints-) Anyway... I'm about done now... I can't remember really who I wanted to address in this chapter, but in Chapter 27 - there will be a huge list of people I would like to address... -smiles- Yes, yes, it'll be wonderous.

Thank-you for the 19 reveiws I've received since the last chapter!! I can't believe I got so many... Anyway, Please continue to reveiw te WOTM, and.. HOOO MY GOD! 300plus reveiws?! KICK ASS!!! Also, 100,000 words? KICK MAJOR ASS!!! Just so's ja kno'... this whole story keeps going because of all of you. So, thank-you so much again. -smiles-

Spoiler: Uhm... I KNOW! I'll answer last chapter's spoiler - what fun!!! The movie was called _'Dirty Dancing'_, and OH YES, that will be OH SO FUN to write!! YES!!! Dirty dancing Sirius and Remus... It will be fine, it will be good, and people_ will_ get horny. Kehehehehe -launches into a loud cackle- Ehhem.. I'm spent.

TILL NEXT TIME - TO INFINITY, AND BEYOND!!! -knowingly infringes on copywrites- Kuahaha! . ... I'm spent this time, for real. Ta!!


	27. Chapter 27

James had been fiddling with his mask for the past 10 minutes, becoming increasingly upset because he had no idea how to put it on. "How the hell do you put these things on?!"

"Did you read the card that's in the box, James?" Remus looked down as he tied his robe closed. "If you read the card, you'd know how to put it on."

"There was a card?"

"Yes, James... there was a card." Remus stopped suddenly and sighed as he looked towards James. "Don't tell me you lost it?"

"... I'm not answering that question."

Remus let out an irritated breath. "Jamess..."

"What?!"

"You need the card to put the mask on, everyone gets a different incantation to say – so you had better get on your hands and knees and start looking for it."

"Bugger..." James fell to his knees and began to look under his bed. "What if I don't find it?"

"Then you go mask-less, or you don't go at all." Remus sighed again as he bent down and picked up his own mask. He ran his fingers along the jeweled nose and smiled faintly. He then moved to pick up the card he had set down on his bedside table, placed it into the pocket of his robe, and held the mask firmly in his hand.

"I can't find itt..." James' voice raised a notch as he searched.

"Oh Lord... move over." As Remus began to walk towards James, and he smirked to himself as he bent over and picked up the opened package that had prior held James' robe and as he picked it up, a small card detached itself from the bottom of the box, floating gracefully down towards the mattress. Remus rolled his eyes and picked up the card. "James..."

"What?"

"James... look at me."

"Why?" He looked up and his eyes brightened at the card that was held between Remus' fingers. "Oh!! Wow! Thanks so much for finding it!"

"Mhm..." Remus handed the card to James and looked towards Sirius' empty bed. "Where's Sirius?"

"Out having a fag."

"...A fag?"

"Cigarette, smoke, fag." James answered as he sat down on his own bed, reading the card. "He told me to tell you that he's out at the front of the castle if you want to see him. So, in other words, he wants you to go see him."

"Oh... okay..." Remus paused for a moment. "Is he wearing his mask and robes then?"

"Yeah. Well, he's in his robes, but he has his mask with him."

Remus nodded and moved towards the mirror. He scratched the back of his neck and sighed as he turned to leave the dorm.

"Hey Remus?"

"Yes James?" Remus turned to face his friend.

James stood up and walked towards his fellow Marauder. "I'm really sorry about earlier... you know, w-when everyone saw..."

Remus smiled slightly. "It's alright, it was bound to happen soon enough."

"Yeah, but that it had to happen on your birthday is really unfortunate."

Remus shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't really matter. Today is just another day."

"No it isn't, today is the day you turned 18. This is a day that's completely unique from every other day, or birthday for that matter." James smiled as he spoke. "Why don't you like birthday's anyway?"

Remus paused for a moment, and drew his lip into his mouth. He looked about the room for a moment before answering. "I just havn't had the best experiences on past birthdays... that's all."

"Oh..."

Remus smiled and turned to walk out of the dorm. "I'll meet you in the Great Hall, alright?"

"Yeah, alright. See you soon then."

"See you soon." Remus smiled once more before disappearing behind the wall.

Remus made his way down the stairs, holding up his robe as he did so to avoid stepping on it and ripping it. He smiled at various Gryffindor's as he made his way to the portrait. As he swung it open, someone caught his arm.

"Hey."

Remus turned to find a familiar face staring at him. His insides flip-flopped as he looked into her eyes. "Hi."

"Are you excited about tonight?"

"Yes. Now if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you'd let go of my arm." Remus glanced down at the hand holding his arm.

"Oh, sorry." The girl let go of his arm and crossed her own arms across her bosom. "Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened at Christmas."

Remus looked blankly at Madeline, and sucked on his tongue slightly before looking at her – creating a high-pitched, and in most cases, disrespectful noise. He raised his eyebrows as he answered. "I really don't want to hear it."

"...Remus if you'll ju-"

"Must I repeat myself? I don't want to hear it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find someone. Enjoy your night." He added a fake smile as he pulled the portrait open. When the portrait closed, he rolled his neck and took a deep breath before walking forward.

Remus made his way down the stairs, and towards the front gate – slowly working off the rage that Madeline had ignited in him. He stopped and took a deep breath again before walking out of the front door.

Sirius was standing with his back to the door, his arms crossed, and while one hand held a smoke – the other held the mask. Remus watched as he looked down and took a drag of his cigarette, rolling it in his fingers slightly once his lips had left the filter. Remus began to walk up to him as he watched the smoke slowly flow out of Sirius' mouth.

"James said you wanted to see me...?"

Sirius turned and his somber face lit up into a bright smile. His eyes followed Remus as he walked forward, coming to a stop just infront of Sirius. "Yeah..."

"What about?"

Sirius shrugged slightly, that same smile still on his lips. "For the life of me I can't remember."

Remus smiled and lent forward, and Sirius moved back.

"...What?"

Sirius' smile fell into a slight frown. "You still want to kiss me even though I'm currently smoking?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders and reached forward, taking a small amount of fabric into his fingers as his eyes roamed over the intricate embroidered knots on Sirius' robe. He took a breath into his lungs as he looked up into Sirius' eyes. "I never want to pass up an opportunity to kiss you, but, if you don't want to kiss me, that's fine." Remus then smiled once more and fell into Sirius' chest, resting his head against Sirius' shoulder. "I can wait."

Sirius wrapped the hand that was holding the mask around Remus' shoulders and held him close. He then dropped the cigarette to the ground and stepped on it to put out the smoking embers. He sighed and sat down on the wall behind him, taking Remus' mask from his hand. Sirius then placed it down on the half wall he was sitting on, and moved to place his mask right beside it. He took his wand out of his cloak, aimed it at himself, muttered a spell under his breath, and smiled as he placed his wand back into his cloak. "There, the smell is gone." Sirius wrapped both his arms around Remus' waist, pulling him close so that their chests were touching.

Remus smiled and let out a breath, then wrapping his arms around Sirius' neck – he clasped his hands together as his arms were straight out. Remus looked down into Sirius' eyes and his smile faded.

"What's wrong, Rem?"

Remus looked back and forth between Sirius' eyes before answering. "It's just weird to be so deliriously happy in the presence of just one person."

Sirius smiled and lent up, carefully placing his lips to Remus'. The two boys closed their eyes and melted into the kisses, never letting them escalate any higher than soft, long pecks. Remus unclasped his hands and bent his elbows, grabbing onto them with his hands while his arms were still around Sirius' neck. He let the distance between them disappear, as he lent completely forward, letting every available inch of his body rest against Sirius. He kissed Sirius one last time before leaning back, admiring the soft look on Sirius' face.

"Siri...?"

"Mhm?"

"I have two questions to ask you... will you answer them?"

"Depends on the questions," Sirius smiled in response to Remus' upturned lips, and then continued with his thought. "but yes, I'll answer them."

Remus let go of one of his elbows, and lifted his finger to brush the bangs out of Sirius' eyes. He smiled as Sirius closed his eyes, leaning into the tough as Remus let his hand trail down Sirius face. "Does it bother you that I call you 'Siri'?"

"Not at all." Sirius opened his eyes and looked up into Remus' eyes. "Infact, I prefer that you call me that, because you're the only person who's ever called me 'Siri'. And furthermore – it bugs me when anyone else calls me that." He paused for a moment and sighed lightly as Remus ran the backs of his fingers along Sirius' cheek. "That doesn't have anything to do with it really, but I've decided that only you, and you alone may call me by that name."

Remus smiled and lent forward, kissing Sirius' lips gently. "Alright..." He kissed Sirius again, running his thumb along Sirius' chin. Remus then lent back slightly, still running his fingers along Sirius' skin. "From the first time we made love, I've always been on the bottom..."

"Mhm..." Sirius lent forward and lightly kissed Remus' neck.

Remus moved his head slightly to the side, closing his eyes as warm lips caressed the sensitive skin on his neck. "Would... would you ever let me be on top?"

Sirius lent back and looked into Remus' eyes - his face was straight as he stared at his lover.

"Err... Nevermind..." Remus blushed slightly as he looked down. "I know that's asking for a lot on your part... and if you don't want to then it's alright. I don't mind being on the bottom."

Sirius lifted Remus chin up and smiled from the corner of his mouth. "Of course I'd let you be on top." He kissed Remus gently before leaning back again, tightening his grip around Remus' waist. "Truthfully, I was going to ask you if you wanted to switch positions."

"Really?"

"Mhm... I've been wondering what it would feel like to have you inside me."

Remus laughed slightly as more blood found his cheeks. "I held off of asking because if we did... I... I didn't want to hurt you when it finally did happen."

"Did it hurt when I was inside of you?"

"...Well, at first it did... but after a while it felt incredible."

"Then it'll be the same for me. So don't worry about hurting me." Sirius smiled warmly, backing up what he had just said with amazing confidence. "And besides, I want this. If you want to think about it in technical terms, I'm still a virgin in that sense."

Remus looked up as Sirius spoke, and he broke out into a smile. "That's true."

"Indeed it is. So, what it all boils down to is the fact that you still do get to steal and run away with my virginity."

Remus laughed and felt a large weight lift off of his shoulders. He had been thinking about bringing this up in a conversation for weeks, but only now had the courage to ask. Remus was not at all prepared for the words that came out of Sirius' mouth next.

"Rem... would you, err..." He cleared his throat and loosened his grip on Remus' hips slightly. "would you t-tie me up when... when we... err..."

Remus' jaw dropped as Sirius spoke, and his eyes widened. Remus' gaping mouth soon fell into a smile and he laughed. He brought a hand up to his mouth. "Oh my God..."

Sirius let go of Remus waist and ran his hands through his hair as he looked everywhere but at Remus. He cleared his throat as Remus placed both his hands to Sirius' cheeks. He forced himself to look up into Remus's eyes.

Remus wore an expression of amusement as he spoke, his mouth still curved into a smile. "You really want me to tie you up?"

"...I... Not if you don't want to, but... erm..." Sirius began to stammer, but soon felt lips on his own halting his speech. Remus kissed him a few more times before leaning back.

He laughed again and lent forward, placing another kiss to Sirius' lips. "You really want me to tie you up?"

"Jesus... yes. I want you to tie me up." Sirius was growing increasingly embarrassed and slightly upset at Remus' reaction.

Remus let out an airy breath; his voice was breathy as he spoke next. "Fuck..." He lent forward once more and pulled Sirius into a deep kiss. His whispered breath was hot against Sirius' lips. "God I would love to tie you up..." He lent forward again, kissing Sirius hard.

Sirius voice matched Remus when he broke the kiss. "Uuugh... wait... what?"

"I said that I would love to tie you up."

"You're kidding me?"

"Not in the least." Remus smiled widely and lent forward kissing Sirius again.

Sirius gasped slightly when he felt Remus teeth take a hold of his bottom lip. "It doesn't freak you out...?"

"No. I'll be the only one in history to completely dominate over you in the bedroom. Why would that freak me out?"

"I... well... wait, dominate over me?"

"Yes. I'll be tying you up and fucking you. If that's not domination I don't know what is." He kissed Sirius again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sirius took a hold of Remus' shoulders and pushed a very obviously sexually excited Remus away from him. "You're saying that you want to do it?"

"Yes! Sometimes you can be so dense, Siri." Remus eyes sparkled slightly as he spoke.

"Now, is it wrong that I don't want to go to the dance?"

"No, because I don't either." Remus was about to kiss Sirius again when a voice sounded behind them.

"Pads! Moony! We gotta get in there, the doors will be locking in a minute...!"

Both boys groaned audibly and turned to face James.

"Come on!!"

"Yeahh..." Sirius frowned and placed a quick kiss to Remus' cheek before leaning over to pick up their masks. "Here." He placed Remus' mask into his hands. "We had better get in there before Miss. Potter has a cardiac arrest."

"Hey! I resent that." James frowned as he stepped up beside the couple. "What were you talking about anyway?"

"Something that doesn't need your involvement." Remus snapped suddenly before quickly sucking in his lips with a blush. "Sorry..."

"Yeah... um... it's alright. We'd better get in there." James lift his eyebrows slightly as he spoke, turning in the direction of the doorway.

Sirius smirked before kissing Remus gently on the lips. "Je t'aime... see you in there?"

Remus' face melted into a smile. "Yeah..." He then grabbed Sirius' robe sleeve and pulled him close. "Je t'aime." He then kissed Sirius in return and let of his robe, allowing him to walk towards James with a goofy smile on his face.

Sirius caught up to James and lent close. "Hey."

"Wha? Oh, hey." James smiled in return and then looked towards the ground as they walked.

"Erm... about the conversation Remus and I were having, let's just say that a sexually frustrated Remus isn't a happy Remus." Sirius smirked as James laughed slightly.

"Why's he sexually frustrated? You not paying attention to him?"

"Nah, we've just been interrupted twice today... so he's edgy." Sirius looked sideways at James as he continued to smile. "It doesn't bother you that we're together, does it?"

"What, you and Remus?"

"Yeah..."

"No. It doesn't bother me at all... I'm just happy that you've finally found someone you can be with exclusively. That, and because of our pal Remus, you've stopped slutting yourself around."

"I wasn't that bad was I?"

"Oh come on Pads, a different girl nearly every night? You definitely made your mark on the better half of Hogwart's female population."

Sirius laughed as he and James made their way to the Great Hall, stopping at the doors to wait for Remus. "Well they weren't all girls you know."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Everyone experiments, don't they? Most of the time, it was other guys. Sometimes I'd sleep with a girl – to know if I really did enjoy wanking off with a guy as much as I thought that I did. You know, just to be sure that I really was gay." Sirius looked down at his mask and ran his fingers over the jeweled eyes.

"So when'd you know that you didn't like sleeping with girls?"

"Sometime during 6th year. Infact, the first person I had sex with since the middle of 6th year was Remus."

"You didn't do it with anyone for nearly a year?"

"Er, no-" Sirius was about to continue before James cut him off.

"So that's why you were so sodding edgy." He laughed as Sirius narrowed his eyes at him. "That explains so much..."

"Oh stuff it." Sirius joined in with the laughter and rest against the wall, watching as Remus walked slowly towards them – only a few steps from the entrance of the school.

"So... err... what's it like to do it with a guy?"

"Much the same as with a girl. Well, it's less wet." Sirius laughed at the expression on James' face. "It can be just as wet if you'd like, but that'd involve a lot of lube." Sirius' bright smile melted into a slight lip raise. "It's different, exciting, and really nice. It's nice because you don't have to worry about breaking the person you're with – even though you can't really break a person by having sex with them."

"Do you like it with Remus better than any of the girls or guys for that matter?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Sirius lent back against the wall and smiled at Remus as he walked at the same slow pace towards them. "Well, because I trust him for one, and because there's something between us that was never there with any of the other blokes or girls I'd have sex with." He broke eye contact with Remus and rolled his head over to look at James. "It's like with you and Lily. She'll always be the best sex of your life because you're so in love with her, you know?"

"Yeah..." James smiled slightly. "You don't think I'm being a prat for asking these questions, do you?"

Sirius shook his head and pushed off of the wall. "No. Everyone who's attracted to blokes and hasn't ever done anything about it except kiss has questions. Hell, I'd be asking you if I didn't know what it was like and you did."

"You're kidding me?" James' face broke out into a smile.

"Nope... The once formerly named Hogwarts sex god would be asking you for sex advice." Sirius laughed himself as Remus came to a stop infront of them. "That'd be a moment that we'd have to capture on tape..."

James laughed. "Something we'd have to show at reunions and birthdays, no doubt."

"You dare show that and you'll be less of a man than you are now, and the only sex you'd be having is lesbian sex." Sirius laughed as he reached into Remus' cloak and took out the card. "Here."

"How'd you know it was there?" Remus took the card and frowned.

"Instinct." Sirius smirked as he reached into his own cloak, retrieving the card. "That, and I put mine in the same place."

Remus smiled as he placed the mask to his face and muttered the incantation, followed within seconds by James and Sirius. The three cards vanished into a puff of brown, red, and blue smoke. Sirius then slid his hand around Remus' waist and moved to walk into the Great Hall.

"We'd better get in there, there's only about 10 seconds left 'till 7."

"Yup." James smiled as he walked beside Remus. "I can't wait to see Lily!"

Remus smiled as they entered the Great Hall. He then pointed towards a woman wearing a white dress. "Delay no further, for there is your princess."

James quickly smiled at both Sirius and Remus, and then made his way towards Lily. Her dress was silky, long and white, and it had various sparkling jewels embedded into the fabric – it hung just off of her shoulders, pooling delicately around her upper arms. Her mask was that of a white swan – with delicate feathers fanning out from the side of the mask covering the sides of her hair. She had taken her hair up into a delicate up do, with brilliant red curls cascading down her shoulders, and her hair shimmered when the sparkles caught the light. She turned and smiled when she saw James walking towards her.

"Lily looks gorgeous..." Remus smiled as Sirius squeezed his hip in his hands. "It almost makes me jealous to see them together."

"Why's that? Are you secretly wishing you were wearing that dress?"

Remus laughed as Sirius began to lead them towards an empty place on the already near full dance floor. "No... just jealous because they can have children and we can't."

"Already thinking of children at 18?" Sirius smiled warmly as he took Remus in his arms, wrapping his arms around Remus' waist.

Remus wound his own arms around Sirius' neck and rest his cheek against Sirius shoulder, smiling when his nose came in contact with Sirius' neck. "I think of children all the time. I really do want kids one day – but... that's impossible isn't it...?"

"It doesn't have to be impossible, Rem." Sirius sighed slightly. "But we can worry about that later right? For now... lets worry about what is current."

"I suppose you're right..."

"Of course I am." Sirius smiled when Remus turned to look up at him. "I'm right 90% of the time."

"Are you really?"

"I'd like to think so..." Sirius lent forward and kissed his boyfriend as they moved around the dance floor, taking in the slow music. "But then, it's usually the other way around, isn't it?" He kissed Remus again. "You're right 90% of the time."

"Of course I am." Remus smiled as he lent back, looking into Sirius' eyes. He took in the brilliant blue color and melted into it. Somewhere lost in the music, he found himself drowning in a deep sapphire river, not once fighting to find the surface and take in another breath of air. To die in this river, was to die happy.

"What?"

"Hmm?" Remus snapped out of his daze and blinked. "Oh... nothing."

Sirius smiled and took in a low breath. "Are you really in love with me?"

"Of course I am, what gives you cause to think otherwise?"

"I don't know, I suppose I'm just reassuring myself that this is real, and you really are mine."

Remus ran one of his fingers along the golden ring on his finger. "I'm yours. I'll always be yours." He lent forward, whispering against Sirius' lips. "I belong to you, and you alone." He ended the statement with a slow kiss, savoring the feeling of Sirius' lips on his own as if he'd felt that he'd never kiss Sirius again. Remus suddenly broke the kiss in a fit of laughter.

"What?"

"God I really have to pee..." Remus suddenly felt his knees buckle as he bent down slightly, still laughing. "I'm so sorry... I completely ruined the moment...!"

Sirius smirked. "It's alright... go pee, I'll find you when you're done."

Remus found himself giggling slightly. "Yeah, alright..." He then kissed Sirius cheek hastily before nearly running off in the direction of the restroom.

When Remus had returned from the restroom, he stood at the back of the hall, listening as Dumbledore addressed the 7th years.

"You all look most excellent!" Cheers rang out through the hall. "I must say, I am very pleased that this all worked out, decorations, masks and all." He smiled as he folded his hands together. "Though, I am quite disappointed that I could not get a live band in time – so I've charmed these record players for your enjoyment." He motioned behind him to the table sitting just to his left. "Please enjoy your night, enjoy each others company – and expect for the night to come to an end at midnight." He tilted his head towards the crowd of people as he swiftly left.

There weren't any chaperones that night, but it was to be expected that the cupids that were floating around were charmed to serve as something the Professors would be able to look through to keep an eye on the students. There were tables set up at the front of the Hall, holding cups, drinks, and various treats. While to either side of the Hall sat few round tables, with chairs all around them providing a place for the students to sit at. Remus made his way past a group of Slytherin's, and was caught completely off guard when one of them reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Hello, Remus."

"Wha...?" Remus turned to be greeted with a smile. "Oh, hello Regulus."

"Enjoying your night?" Regulus let go of Remus' arm and grinned even wider as he placed the arm back around Madeline.

"...Yes, I was." Remus made a point to not look at Madeline, and kept his eyes trained on Regulus. "And are you enjoying your night?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, that's good." Remus smiled tightly as he looked towards the dance floor, searching for his friends.

"Hey, do you want some of this?"

Remus turned to see Regulus holding out a cup filled with some sort of alcohol. "Um... no, thank-you, I'm fine."

"Very well... I'll talk to you later then?" Regulus lent forward slightly as he spoke softly.

As an instant reaction, Remus lent back with the same stiff smile on his lips. "Yes... Later." He then bowed his head slightly to Sirius' brother and turned swiftly on his heels to find his friends.

Remus ran a hand through his hair as he passed through the crowd of people, apologizing every time someone would turn abruptly in the midst of a dance and bump into him. They would then smile in acceptance and recover quickly to return to their already established rhythm. Remus finally made it to the other end of the hall, and found Peter sitting at a table with Lily. Remus quickly turned and head in their direction.

"Hello!"

"Oh! Hello Remus!" Lily smiled as she motioned to a seat between herself and Peter. "Take a seat?"

"Err... sure."

Lily shifted slightly as Remus sat down and crossed his legs. The Gryffindor's had taken the seats away from the table, and the three of them now sat facing the dance floor.

"Your robe looks amazing, Remus. You look absolutely dashing in it." Lily smiled as she crossed her legs towards Remus, clasping her hands gently together.

Remus smiled as he looked over at Lily. "Thank-you. And I must say that you my lady look absolutely beautiful tonight."

Lily's warm laughter filled Remus' ears, causing him to smile even wider. "You are such a charming person, Remus. Do tell me, how is it that you havn't got a fan club?"

"I have..."

"You do? Oh tell me more!" Lily scooted closer to Remus, now very interested in the conversation.

Remus delighted in the fact that he changed into a completely different person when he was around Lily. He allowed himself to act his age, and not feel foolish about doing so. "Yes... well, it mainly consists of two people as far as I know. Let's see... there's the Fat Lady – she's taken quite a shining to me." Remus thought for a moment. "Oh! And Mari, that's the woman who made this robe for me... she wrote me a letter and called me 'mon cher'," Remus smiled at the confused expression on Lily's face. "She's French, what that means is 'my dear'."

"Ohh... do you think she'll be disappointed to find out that you're gay?"

"Ahh... I thought the same thing, and the answer is most positively yes." Remus grinned as he looked towards the crowd of dancing people. "So where is James?"

"Someplace with Sirius... I havn't the foggiest where they've disappeared off to," Lily frowned slightly. "Peter? Do you know?"

"Huh? What?"

Lily rolled her eyes before leaning forward, looking at Peter. "Do you know where James and Sirius got off to?"

"No. They didn't tell me." Peter stood up and shifted around nervously. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

"Yes, yes." Lily smiled at him tightly before returning her attention to Remus. "He's quite off these days..."

"Off?"

"Yes, you know, acting weird. Very weird actually."

"Well he's Peter... Peter's always acted weird."

"Of course, but as of lately he's been a bit more shifty than usual."

"You sound like a gossiping housewife, Lils."

Lily placed her hand to her chest in mock astonishment. "I would never gossip!"

"If that is the case, then why do I detect the faint hint of a lie in that last statement?"

Lily let her hand fall to her lap again and grinned. "You know me too well."

"Yes, of course I do. I'm practically your brother. I'd be disappointed in myself if I knew nothing about you, Lily." Remus spoke as he looked towards the dance floor, watching as the various couples and groups of friends danced along to the music.

"Ahh yes, my dear, sweet brother Remus..." Lily smiled as she lent forward, whispering into Remus' ear. "and as my brother, you'll be required to gossip back with me."

"Impossible. I don't know any gossip worthy information to share with you dear sister." Remus looked back to Lily as he scratched his knee.

"Of course you do!"

"I do? And what is this wonderful information to which I hold the key to?"

"Well, your sex life of course." Lily grinned brightly at the shock on Remus' face.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Not at all!"

"What is it with women and their fascination with the sex lives of gay men?"

"Oh I don't know it's like a forbidden fruit kind of thing."

"That had better not be a play on words." Remus lifted one eyebrow and frowned slightly as he looked at Lily.

"No, of course it isn't Remus. I'm just curious, that's all."

"Then why don't we keep it at that. Let's keep you curious."

"Oh but Remus, that's not fun at all..."

"Yes, I know. But it saves me from embarrassing myself by chatting to you about my sex life."

"Remuss..."

"No! Lily, I am not going to indulge your little fantasy of knowing what Sirius and I do in bed, only to have you skip off to your friends and tell them what happens between us."

Lily frowned at Remus response and sat back in her chair. "Your words are cruel. I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing."

"Just as well. I don't ask you about your sexual relationship with James, do I?"

"Well, no, but that must be because it doesn't do anything for you."

"Oh and gay sex does something for you?"

"Well, no... but-"

"Curiosity killed the cat." Remus counteracted Lily's frown with a smile.

"But I'm not a cat Remus."

"And I'm not an encyclopedia full of information about gay sex that you can just check out of the library and read anytime you want, Lily."

"That's so very unfair of you, Remus."

"What's unfair of him?" Sirius smiled as he and James stepped up infront of their respective 'others'. The music had shifted from a light fast song, to a song with a fair amount of bass, combined with a low, dirty tone.

"Oh, nothing at all." Lily smiled back at the two standing infront of her. "So where did you two bugger off to?"

"There was no buggering, and we just went for a short walk." Sirius began to unbutton his robe, shrugging the heavy fabric off of his shoulders.

"A walk? What kind of walk?" Remus straightened slightly as he looked from James to Sirius, a kind smile playing on his lips.

"The kind that you take when you want to walk, my darling." Sirius smiled as he held out a hand after throwing his discarded robe onto the chair that Peter had been sitting on. "Come dance with me."

"To this song? I don't think so." Remus crossed his arms and sat back in the chair.

"Oh come on, I'll teach you how...?"

"No."

"Remy... please? I want to dance with you."

Remus uncrossed his arms and motioned to his right. "Dance with Lily."

"I don't want her rubbing against me..."

"And I most certainly don't want to be the rub-ee in this situation." Lily wrinkled her nose in slight disgust as Sirius smiled at her response. "Just dance with him before he has an attack of some sort."

"Oh you'd enjoy that wouldn't you?" Sirius laughed slightly as Lily spoke.

"Only time will tell. Get up Remus, dance with your boyfriend," Lily looked over to Remus and smiled. "and I'll dance with mine."

"I can't dance, Lily." James shyly spoke up, running a hand through his hair.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'll teach you how." Lily smiled as she stood up and took James' hand and led him away with a smile on her lips. "Get up Remus!"

Sirius stuck out his hand and reached for Remus', clasping their hands together. "Come on, Rem... the song is almost over."

"Oh hogwash it's just started."

"Hogwash?"

"Lily rubs off on me rather quickly..." Remus sighed as he felt his cheeks flush at his own childish statement. "Stop pulling on my hand."

"Please come and dance with me...?"

"No. I've already told you my answer. And besides, I can't dance. Not like this anyway. I'm incapable of moving in such a provocative manner." Remus frowned slightly as he pulled his hand back.

"Hogwash. Get off your ass and come dance with me. I know for a fact that you are able to move like this, now come on. As an early birthday present for me?"

"I... Sirius... that's not fair."

"Come on!" Sirius pulled Remus to his feet and pouted. "Please, please, please?"

"Sirius..."

"If you don't dance with me I won't let you tie me up..." Sirius smirked as Remus' slightly angered or was it embarrassed face turned to one of shock.

"You wouldn't..."

"I would. Now come dance." Sirius face was rather serious as he spoke.

"But Sirius... I... there's people around and-"

"Remus Lupin, get your ass on the dance floor and dance with me. Now."

"I..." Remus took in a shuttering breath and sighed. "...Fine..."

Sirius face lit up immediately as he kissed Remus' burning cheek. "Thank-you!" He then moved to untie the knot of Remus' robe, pulling it off of his boyfriend, and throwing it on top of his own discarded robe.

"Uh-huh... The only reason that I'm doing it is because it's a birthday present. So don't expect anything from me in three months time." Remus let himself be led towards the floor, where couples all around them were grinding against eachother, finding sexual positions while dancing that Remus didn't know existed. "I think the song is almost over..."

"No it isn't, this is a really long song. And you're not getting out of this, I'll have you know that." Sirius smiled as he turned and abruptly turned Remus around to stand flat against his chest. "Now, listen to the beat of the song."

"Uh-huh..."

"Can you feel it?"

"Feel it? What do you mean?"

"The natural rhythm of the song, can you feel it?"

"Er... I suppose, yes." Remus glanced around nervously, watching the couples around him.

"Excellent, now, simply move with the rhythm."

"Simply move with it? Are you kidding me?"

"No. Just do it."

"I don't think so. I can't do this. Sirius this is impossible."

"Enough with the negative comments and just move with me, alright?"

"I... Sirius..." Remus let out a rather high-pitched gasp as he felt Sirius move his hips against Remus'. "Should you be doing that?"

"Yes." Sirius smiled as he kissed Remus' neck. "And you should be moving with me."

"Where did you learn to... erm... dance like this?"

"Taught myself. Now mimic my movements, move your hips against mine, and put your arms around my neck."

"This is like fucking in public, Sirius."

Sirius laughed suddenly as he placed one of his legs in-between Remus' and let his hands trail down Remus' shoulders and down to grab his hands. "You're acting old fashioned," He gracefully moved Remus' arms up in the air, letting them come to a rest around his neck. "This is nothing like fucking in public, Rem."

Remus' body involuntarily began to move with the beat of the music, and he began to sway his hips slightly as he still looked around at the couples around them. "Won't we... drag attention to ourselves if we do this?"

"I couldn't care less." Sirius smiled again as he felt Remus move against him. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Then put your trust in me now." Sirius smirked as he lent forward, braced his hands against Remus' back, and dipped him.

Remus let his hands trail down Sirius back, before lightly grabbing onto Sirius shoulders as he went down, only to be slowly brought up again and pulled close to Sirius' chest. Remus looked up at Sirius, his head still slightly dipped. He then smiled as he left one arm resting on Sirius' neck, and the other found its way down Sirius chest, slowly moving towards Sirius' back.

"It doesn't take much to convince you, does it?"

"Apparently not. But don't blame me if I'm no good at this." Remus slowly let his hand trail down Sirius back, letting his fingers trace over Sirius' butt before he let his hand fall to his own side.

"I won't."

"So... this is all we do?" Remus turned his head to the side slightly, and lift his leg so that one foot was on its toes. He then ground his hips against Sirius slightly, then, repeated the same movement over again, except this time he moved his hips in a circular motion, bending his knees as he did so, then standing nearly straight again as the rotation finished – with his hips pressed against Sirius'.

"Ahh... fast learner." Sirius smiled as he wrapped one of his arms around Remus waist. "Yes, that's exactly what you do..."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Remus smiled as he looked over Sirius shoulder. He mimicked the move he saw one girl follow through with. This move being: Remus lifting his leg, only to have Sirius' hand trail down his thigh and hold slightly against the side of his hips. Remus then moved his own hips against Sirius', and wrapped his other arm around Sirius' neck. Remus let his leg drop and felt the arm that was around his torso move down to grasp at Remus' butt. Remus let out a slight gasp at the touch, but soon decided that it was just fine that Sirius held him there while they danced.

The two continued to dance in time with eachother, until Remus had gotten enough courage to decide to let go of Sirius' neck and crouch down whilst still moving his hips, trailing his hands down Sirius' chest as he did so. He looked up and smiled at Sirius as he came back up again, letting his hands lead the way for his body. In one fluid movement, Remus had wrapped his arms back around Sirius neck and had continued to move his hips in time with Sirius'. And, soon enough, the two found each other's lips, and began to kiss eachother hastily. Placing soft kisses on each other's lips and necks. Sirius's hand traveled slowly down Remus' side and down the curve of Remus' hip. He took the hint and lift his leg, having it held once more by Sirius' warm hand, and instead of moving again, Sirius lent forward and led Remus in a slow, circular dip while moving his hips with slow deliberate thrusts – causing Remus' cheeks to burn. When Sirius finally brought Remus up, he was greeted with a smiling face.

"You certainly have the stamina of a teenager, Siri."

"What do you mean?"

Remus smirked as he backed up slightly, running one hand down Sirius' chest. "It doesn't take much to make you hard."

"Well if you're going to continue moving like that against me, then it won't take much to get me off."

"Are you suggesting that I stop, then?" With that, Remus let both his hands fall from Sirius' shoulders and cup on the fleshy mounds of Sirius' butt as he rotated his hips against Sirius'.

"No, I'm suggesting that we get out of here and find a room..."

"But the song isn't over..." Remus trailed his arms around Sirius's hips and to his shoulders, holding onto the flesh lightly. He then lent forward and licked Sirius' jaw, tasting the salty flavor of sweat on his tongue. Only a few months ago would this flavor against his tongue would have made Remus sick, but now, it did nothing but work to make Remus hard.

Sirius smirked and kissed Remus' neck quickly before bending his knees and slowly kneeling to the ground, trailing his hands down Remus' sides while looking up the whole time to meet his eyes with Remus's. Remus kept both his hands loosely on Sirius' shoulders, and moved his hips in the most provocative way he had all night when Sirius' face was level with his crotch.

"Remind you of anything?"

Remus let his head fall back as he laughed warmly. Remus felt hands travel back up his torso and eventually, a chest against his own. "Only the showers."

"The showers indeed..." Sirius wrapped his arms tightly around Remus waist and dipped him once more, only this time; he bent forward, making sure their bodies touched as they moved. While Sirius dipped his boyfriend, he kissed his neck, sucking lightly at the skin.

Remus actually found himself giggling as they righted their positions, and he smiled as he tightened his grip around Sirius' neck. "I never want to dance any way but this way..."

"I thought you were against the idea."

"Mmm..." Remus kissed Sirius' jaw and smiled against the moist skin. "Not anymore."

"So it's no longer like fucking in public?"

"Of course not..." Remus reached up and pulled off Sirius' mask, holding it in his hand. "This is dancing, not fucking."

"And when does the fucking come into the picture?" Sirius removed Remus' mask, and grinned widely as the familiar amber eyes filled with lust.

"At this rate? Soon." Remus closed the space between his lips and Sirius'.

"That's good, but where will it happen?" Sirius kissed along Remus cheek and soon towards his ear, lightly nipping at the earlobe.

"Must you speak so much whilst I'm kissing you?"

Sirius' chest rumbled with slight laughter as he smiled. "I apologize your Majesty."

"Majesty? Correct me if I'm mistaken, but are you not the Queen?" Remus kissed the tip of Sirius nose.

"According to James I am..." Sirius let one hand travel down Remus' waist and around the curve of his hip before resting the hand on Remus' butt – the other arm still tight across Remus' narrow waist.

"So what does that make me?"

"The Queen's mistress?"

"So the Queen is a lesbian?"

"Apparently so."

Remus giggled as he kissed Sirius again, letting his lips linger on Sirius' for a while before speaking again. "I don't think She'd appreciate us speaking about her in such a casual manner."

"Mmm... what She doesn't know can't hurt Her."

"Excellent logic...." Remus grinned as he pulled himself closer to Sirius body. "Kiss me."

Sirius spoke with his lips just millimeters from Remus' lips - the hand on Remus' butt tightened slightly before resting again, though not moving. "If I must..."

Remus grinned and met Sirius' lips with his own. And as they kissed eachother – neither had noticed that a circle had formed around them, and the music had stopped. The crowd was quiet as they watched the two boy's French kiss eachother, stopping in-between every few strokes of their tongues to lay closed mouth kisses on each other's lips.

James watched with wide eyes, as did Lily. "I didn't know Remus was capable of moving like that."

"I didn't know he was capable of kissing like that..." Lily answered as she lent closer to James. "Should we stop them?"

_"WHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

"...Nope." James sighed as a group of boys had begun to whoop out at the couple, clapping their hands. "That's currently being taken care of."

Remus and Sirius immediately stopped kissing and their eyes went wide as they looked at eachother.

"Don't tell me that we're surrounded by a group of people."

Sirius blinked. "Okay, then we're not surrounded by a group of people."

"Are they whooping at us?"

"...No." With that, Sirius turned, with one hand still around Remus' waist. "Hey, Rem... PS: I lied..."

Remus nodded his head and pursed his red lips together. "Good. I'm always up for a good lie."

_"WAY TO GO!! WHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!"_ This time, more kids had joined in.

Remus felt his cheeks go completely red as he looked up at Sirius, who was currently smiling. "What are you smiling for?!"

Sirius smile only widened as he waved back at a friend, one of the 7th year Hufflepuff girls. "God help me I have no idea."

_"NOW THAT WAS AN AMAZING SHOW! WAY TO GO REMUS!"_

"Just Remus? Was I not doing anything?" Sirius suddenly yelled back at the person who had screamed out just moments before.

Regulus stood forward and crossed his arms whilst shaking his head. "No dear brother. You did fine. It's just that they've all seen you in action plenty times before." He smiled wider at his brother. "It's a real treat to see Remus doing it."

"You had better not mean anything by that last statement." Sirius growled at his brother, holding Remus around the waist tighter.

"Not at all, Sirius. I wouldn't dream of taking your loving Remus away."

Sirius narrowed his eyes at his brother, his voice rising with anger. "If you swing that way, dear brother, then why not go search out Snape and Malfoy? I'm sure they'd just love to have a third party before the charm on their rainbow scarves wears off."

At this, the whole school turned to look at Severus and Lucius. They were standing at the front of the Hall, both with crossed arms and scowls on their faces. And as soon as everyone turned to look at them, they both uncrossed their arms and glared openly at Sirius.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you just tell me that Severus and Lucius are poofs?" Regulus grimaced as he looked at the two mortified Slytherins.

Sirius frowned as he looked up at the two rainbow clad men. "No, Snape and Malfoy aren't gay, they're just stuck together for being asshats."

"Then just what the fuck did you mean by telling me to join them if I swing that way?"

Sirius shrugged. "Slytherins should stay together, don't you think? And as an added bonus, why only have one when you can have two? Two is much more fun than one – so many more possibilities."

Remus raised his eyebrows as he looked to the side at James. James shrugged his shoulders, and Remus returned his gaze to his boyfriend.

"So... Severus and Lucius aren't gay?"

"Lord no dear brother, they are as straight as straight men come." Sirius raised his eyebrows and smiled. "And, since I am gay, I'd like to take my lovely boyfriend here, and leave. Is that satisfactory with all of you?" Sirius turned to address the crowd. Remus unexpectedly backed up what Sirius had said with a smile, looping his arm around Sirius' waist.

The crowd nodded, some still giggling at the sight they had just seen, others grimacing as Sirius lent down to kiss Remus once more before leaving.

"Excellent, I do hope that you all enjoy the rest of your night – as I'm sure that I will."

"Sirius..."

"Yes?"

Remus shook his head as they began to walk towards the exit. "Must you tell them all that we're going to enjoy ourselves in the astronomy tower?"

"Astronomy tower? Excellent! And, yes. Yes I must." Sirius smiled as he lent over to speak to James. "Take our robes back to the dorms? Lily knows where they are."

James smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, yeah. Enjoy yourselves."

"Oh, we will." Sirius winked before continuing to walk out of the hall.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

What's this?! I've left you all the the impending sex scene! Or will there be one?! Only I know, and I'm not about to share that with youuuuu... KUAHAHA!!!! Whee... Sorry.. O.o... Anyway, I had better explain a few things to you my dears. Starting of course, with the masks....

Remus, the Deer: Gentleness, Caring, Sensitivity, Peace and Wisdom.  
James, the Raccoon: Sensitivity, Strength and Patience.  
Sirius, the Wolf: Intence loyalty, Balance of Independance, Perseverance and Success.  
Lily, the Swan: Total Grace, Serenity, Nurturing, and Innocence.  
Peter, the Chicken: Teaches the importance of Service and Sacrifice.

Yes, so now the masks can make a bit more sense, yes? Whoo! I hope so, Peter's mask had a large description, but I just picked out what it basically ment... O.o.... Anyway, but do the masks fit the personalities I've created for the characters?

Here now, will come the address to the reveiwers. WHOO!

Daringtobeme: Your welcome! I'm glad that my writing envoked such emotion in you. -smiles- I'm really glad that you liked it.

Rhiannan Star: Whoo!! Well, I get some of my idea's from Kylia Nahimana, and some from myself. Other's are just things that I've taken from random stories/TV shows I've read/seen, and I change them around and fit them into my story. Most of the time I spend with Kylia is spent chatting about what can happen in my story - and what can happen in hers. It really pays off to have someone around that you can talk to about the story and get ideas aswell from that person. I'm also really glad that I've made Sirius believeable as all that you listed! Whoo... It's rather hard to do that and not have him smoking/swearing all the time, you know? Thanks so much for that lovely complement!!! And as your wish - here's your chapterr! Whoo!

Lizzi: -blushes madly- Thank-you so very much for all of your compliments! They went straight to my eyes and cause them to water...! I'm really thankful to have people such as you reveiwing the story, because the comments that come from amazing people like you are the kind that really get to me and make me want to write and better my writing to keep you satisfied - you know?

Kynny: OMG! Kill her off?! Lord! That's quite the suggestion, my dear! Sure, it's occured to me, but that would ruin the storyline... O.o... Whooo.... I had better stop before I give away to much, huh? -dies- You've got to be the most hilarious reveiwer I have!

StolenSoul4818: My good friend Melissa has told me to do the same thing... you know, create my own story and publish it. Also - Sandy has told me that, and... errm... I'm just fine raping other people's story/characters for my own devious implications. KUAHAH! I have been thinking about creating my own story, and my own world... but I'm only 17 - It's going to take alot of planning, and alot of classes that I'm to take before I can do that, right? Or, maybe I'll be a prodigy like JKR - and just be famous in a snap... HA... lol!

Fatal: It's not my picture, so I can't really give away the rights to you using it in an image/banner. I suppose, just be sure to credit the artist by using the address... okay? I don't want to get in trouble or anything. But thank-you for your lovely comments! -sends muchos love your way-

KaoruDirEnGreyMember: Ahh!!! I'm glad that you enjoyed the 'Mocker'!! I was thinking about 'Mocklette' from Friends when I was writing that, so I changed it around a bit and used it. You aren't a freak! Your absolutely healthy! I'd be worried if that didn't affect you at all. YES! French Remus!! No one really knows that he is French really... SO! In order to make him even more sexy-cool, he has more of a French accent than an English one, meaning - it's somewhere in the middle. -melts- Oh how I love Remus...

padfootxxforever: THREE SOME?! Not in this fic. I will however, write a J/S/R smut!fic for the readers out here who want me to write a threesome for them. When I do write one, I'll let you know via at the end of every chapter thing like here - and then you can go click on the HPSmutbunnie's link in my userinfo to read it!! WEEE!!! MARAUDER SMUT!

Anyhoo, I think that's about it on my part... Uhm... If I think of anything else I'll include it in the next chapter. I'm not sure if I'm going to write good old fashioned smut or not - so, be on the watch for the 'Hard R'. -giggles- Anyway! I have however, written Sirius/Remus drabble!smut that has nothing to do with this fic over at the LJ Community in my user info (hpsmutbunnies). So if you want to read some angsty goodness - hop on over there and help yourself. I think that you're able to comment - but.. either way, let me know what you think of it.. O.o...

Spoiler: God I'm running out of ideas... OH! I know, Dumbledore puts a plan into action for the last month of school - favoring the 7th years. It's what leads to the red pants I told you about earlier. -ker wink- Mmm... Pants...

ANYWAY! Catch you all later-like. Remember to reveiw and show the starving writer your luffs. -laugh- Yeah, right.... But reveiw anyway? Thank-you so much in advance!

ALSO! NOWWW I think we've reached 300 Reveiws, and 100k words... so, now, more apropriately... WHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-clears throat-

I'm spent... -smiles-


	28. Chapter 28 : Medium R

Sirius and Remus made their way out of the school, and broke into a run as soon as they had spotted the astronomy tower. Remus' attitude that night had done a complete 180, and he acted nothing as he usually did. Tonight – Sirius wasn't spending time with calm, collected, grown up Remus – he was spending time with 18-year-old Remus: a Remus, amazingly enough, much the same as his mate.

"OH MY GOD!!" Remus burst out laughing, running behind Sirius.

"What?" Sirius turned around and caught Remus when he ran into Sirius' chest. He held Remus close as they both started to laugh together.

"That was so amazing! Did you see the looks on their faces? Holy shit!" Remus laughed as he slipped his arms around Sirius' waist. The two had lost balance, and were now struggling to stay on their feet. Swaying for a few steps, Remus finally found his center of balance and looked up at Sirius, holding him at arms length. He was about to speak when he burst out into another round of laughter, and instead of forming an articulate sentence; he screamed and grabbed Sirius' hand, running once more to the tower.

"REMUS!"

"Yess?"

"Slow down!" Sirius nearly tripped as he followed his lover up a hill. "God these old bones can't handle all this running..."

"Christ you're 17, Sirius! You'd think you'd be in better condition than I am! You're the pro the Quidditch player, and I'm just a sickly werewolf!" Much to his own disappointment, Remus slowed into a fast walk, still smiling wide.

"Ahh yes, but I havn't been to practice in a few weeks, and you aren't sickly."

"Why? Have you been skipping out?"

"Well... no, we just haven't called any practices."

"And why is that?"

"I'm betting on the fact that it's because we're not playing anyone in the next match. It's Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw – so we're not exactly needing the practice." Sirius smiled as they both ran down the hill, both coming to a stop a good 10 feet from the end of the hill.

"Well you should still be practicing, Sirius. You can't just not practice and then because of that not practicing you end up buggering up the next game... That didn't really make sense, did it?"

"No... it didn't..." Sirius laughed as he held the door open for Remus as they had just made it to the tower. "But, we'll get right on it – you know, the practicing."

"Good." Remus smiled as he climbed the stairs, taking them two at a time. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so energetic. The running they had been doing didn't even seem to affect him, and the only give away was the fact that his cheeks were slightly pink.

However, Sirius was completely out of breath as they made it to the door on the second floor. Remus laughed and slapped Sirius' stomach.

"You lazy ass!"

"I am not... my body just doesn't agree with exercise." He grinned as he picked Remus up and hoisted him over his shoulder.

"SIRIUS! PUT ME DOWN!" Remus broke out into more laughter as he heard the door slam shut and lock behind them. "SIRIUSSS!!!"

"On your command..." Sirius flipped Remus over and watched as he landed on the bed, laughing the whole time. Sirius then kicked off his shoes and bent down to remove his socks, throwing them to the couch as he took them both off. "I can't remember the last time you were this happy, Rem."

Remus choked back a giggle as he sat half way up, resting on his elbows, looking down as he kicked off his own shoes. "I don't think I've been this happy in a long time... well... visibly happy anyway."

"Why don't you like birthdays?"

Remus was caught off guard by the question, but amazingly enough – it didn't hinder his mood as it usually did when brought up. "Because I was bitten by the werewolf on my birthday when I was a child – thus, I do not like this day." Remus's answer was simple, and very straightforward.

"...Oh."

"Oh don't let that bother you, it's the past. Nothing can change the past." Remus reassured Sirius with a smile before grinning broadly and grabbing onto the front of Sirius' shirt, pulling him down onto the bed.

Sirius fell onto the mattress beside Remus gladly, grinning when Remus moved to straddle his thighs. "Are you not even going to prepare me before you ravish me?"

Remus raised his eyebrows smiling, and started to search the pockets of Sirius pants.

"What are you doing?" Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and laughed as he watched Remus look into his left pants pocket.

"Looking for...AH!!" Remus pulled out a small bag of gillyweed. "Looking for this!"

"How'd you know I had that?"

"Honestly, a 'walk' Sirius? Both you and James smelt like weed, and you tasted like it." Remus tilted his head to the side and lent down, resting his forearms on Sirius' chest. "So can we smoke it?"

"What?"

Remus smiled and kissed Sirius' lips. "Can we smoke it? Please?"

"What for?"

"Because I want to get high?" Remus sat up again, opening the bag. "Come on, look, there's a few joints already rolled, and I know you have your lighter."

"Yeah, but I'm sitting on it... so you can't get to it."

"Sure I can." Remus grinned and tossed the bag of gillyweed to the side somewhere above Sirius' head. He then un-straddled his lover and grabbed Sirius' belt loops, and turned him onto his side.

"Remus!!!"

"Yes?"

"Jesus! You're going to rip the fabric!" Sirius laughed as Remus stuck his fingers into Sirius pants pocket and pulled out the lighter.

Remus' jaw dropped as he looked at the lighter. His amused eyes turned from the brass lighter to Sirius. "Why in God's name have you got a lighter like this?"

Sirius blushed slightly as he sat up, grabbing the lighter from Remus's hands. "Because it was the only one left..."

"What... did you go to a sex shop?" Remus' grin widened as he spoke.

"No... it was the only one left in my room."

"You have brass lighters in the shape of an erect penis stashed in your room? Good Lord!" Remus laughed. "When did you get it, Sirius?"

Sirius took a deep breath as he spoke. "Few months ago."

"God that's amazing, can I see it?"

"What for?"

"It's not every day I get to see a brass penis." Remus actually squeaked as he smiled and bit his bottom lip.

"You're completely adorable, you know that?" Sirius shook his head and laughed as he handed the lighter to his boyfriend.

"Adorable? How so?" Sirius was about to respond when Remus had popped the top of the lighter up, and pressed his thumb down on the clasp that let the butane out. "OH!!" He squealed when it lit up and he looked back at Sirius. "This is bloody amazing!"

Sirius's smile was wide as he looked at his boyfriend, who at the moment – was completely amazed and intrigued by a lighter of questionable shape. Sirius lay back, resting on his elbows. "Oh... my... god!"

"What?" Remus let the fire die, and looked towards Sirius.

"Something tells me that you're about to leave me for that brass penis."

"Oh Sirius..." Remus lent forward, running his hand down Sirius' chest. "I wouldn't ever leave you for a brass penis," He made a show of cupping his hand over Sirius' groin. "I'd maybe think about having an affair – but I'd never leave you for it." He squeezed his hand and yelped when Sirius grabbed his shoulders and flung him onto his back. Remus smiled up at Sirius as he felt him straddle his legs.

"I'll make sure that you never leave me for a brass penis..."

"Will you?"

Sirius answer was more of a sexual, almost animal like growl than a 'yes' (which it was intended to be), as he lent down and kissed Remus' lips. Remus moaned against his lover's lips and kissed him back with just as much fury, wrapping his arms around Sirius' waist as he did so. Sirius didn't notice that one of Remus' hands had left his back as he moved his way from Remus' mouth to his neck... and Sirius was definitely surprised that when he looked up, a bag was held infront of his face and Remus was smiling underneath him.

"Please?"

Sirius groaned and rolled his eyes. "You're going to give me blue balls."

"So I'll give you a handjob later to take care of it," Remus smiled before letting his mouth fall into a hopeless pout. "Please?"

"It'll take more than a handjob for me to let you smoke that."

"Fine, I'll tie you up and give you a handjob." Remus bit his lip as Sirius raised his eyebrow. "Alrighhtt... instead of a handjob, how about a nice clean fuck?"

"There won't be anything clean about it when it happens, Remus."

"Okay! The dirtier the better! Now can we smoke this?" Remus furrowed his eyebrows and puckered his lips as he pouted. It seemed as if his already large amber eyes grew in size as he stared up at Sirius. "Please?"

Sirius took a deep breath and lent down, kissing his pouting boyfriend. "Fine."

Remus' face lit up with a smile as he kissed Sirius again before he felt Sirius roll off of his hips. "Thank-youu!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Remus rolled his eyes as he looked over at Sirius. "Oh for Christ's sake..."

"What?"

Remus shook his head and hopped off the bed. "You're pouting." He sank to his knees infront of Sirius and smiled. "I don't want you to pout when I'm so happy."

"What are you doing?"

Remus tugged at the belt holding Sirius pants up. He undid it quickly and whipped the leather out of the belt hoops – any quicker and Sirius guessed that it would have seared the fabric. He grinned as he moved for the buttons of Sirius' pants. "Tiding you over."

Sirius matched Remus' grin slightly as he watched Remus take the zipper of his pants into his fingers and let it slide down. "What for?"

"Because you're not going to be happy otherwise, that's why." With one last smile up at his boyfriend, Remus reached into Sirius' pants, and grasped Sirius flaccid penis in his hands.

"You don't have to, Remus..."

"One more complaint out of you and I won't." Remus smiled. Not a kind smile as he would usually give to his boyfriend, but a devious smile – the kind of smile that would make your toes curl because you knew that nothing good was coming your way. "Besides, I miss your taste."

Without waiting for another word, Remus bent down further and took the head of Sirius' penis into his mouth. Within a few seconds of working his tongue around the length of Sirius' dick, it was beginning to become hard – thus, proving that any type of complaints on Sirius' side wouldn't have gone over very well.

"Why are you so-" Sirius groaned slightly as he watched Remus' head. "happy today?"

"Because it's my birthday?" Remus's breath ghosted over Sirius, gaining a slight gasp from above. Remus smiled before going back to work.

"I thought you didn't... you didn't..." Sirius looked around the room, eyebrows raised - his head slightly bobbing as he sucked in his lips. He tried his hardest to concentrate on what he was about to say as Remus' tongue ran under the length of his dick.

"Yes?"

"Didn't like b-b-birthday's?"

Remus looked up at Sirius and smiled as he stroked his hand up and down Sirius' now hard erection. "I don't. I just enjoy this one."

"Why...?"

"Because I have you." Remus blinked, (apparently thinking that the answer should have been clear as a sunny summer day) before ducking his head and taking Sirius' cock once more into his mouth.

Sirius groaned and curled his fingers around the comforter on the bed. "Then if it's your b-b-birthday-"

"Quite the word to get your lips around, isn't it Siri?"

"Christ it is when you do that to me..." Sirius' eyebrow's furrowed, his jaw dropped, and he lent forward.

"Yes I do suppose that it would be... No matter." Remus shrugged, holding Sirius' erection in one hand while his other hand moved towards Sirius's thigh. Remus let his lips cover his teeth as he took Sirius deeper into his mouth. "Mmmguhs?"

Sirius' leg twitched into the air as the vibrations from Remus' voice sent shockwaves though his body. "What?"

Remus continued to suck on Sirius for a few seconds longer before he finally let his lips leave Sirius' cock, but he still didn't speak. Remus swiped his tongue over the slit of the head, smiling. "I said, 'are you enjoying this?'," Remus looked towards Sirius' leg. "And did your leg just twitch?"

Sirius nod his head and laughed. "Why are you talking while you're..." He cleared his throat.

"Would you prefer me to be quiet?"

"N-no..." Sirius stumbled over the words as he felt Remus' hand pump up and down the length of his erection. "S-Shit! Oh my fuck..." Any further words were masked by a rather loud moan.

"Mmm..." Remus smiled and bent down, taking Sirius in his mouth once more.

Sirius looked down, his eyes wide as he watched Remus' head bob up and down. Involuntarily, he thrust his hips forward just as his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Jesus, fuck... oh God..." Sirius' voice broke into a whimper as he felt Remus' tongue slide down the length of his cock, and back up again – only to swirl around the top stimulating the flesh to somewhere up in the stratosphere.

Remus let his hand grip the shaft of Sirius' dick, squeezing slightly in regular intervals as he moved his tongue around the tip, flicking it from around the top to just under the head and back again.

Sirius arched his back, his jaw dropped, and his face contorted into one of complete ecstasy. Remus ran his free hand up and down Sirius' thigh, down the side towards his crotch and back again, humming slightly as he took the head back into his mouth. Sirius managed to gasp out Remus' name as he came, and, Remus happily swallowed as much of Sirius' seed as he could. Any remains were promptly licked up.

"Oh... oh dear..." Lily gasped and covered her mouth as her eyes went wide.

Remus turned to look at the door, wiping his bottom lip with his fingers. He raised his eyebrows as his eyes shifted from James to Lily. Remus then narrowed his eyes at the very pale couple. "Do you ever knock?"

"OH SHIT!" Sirius quickly turned and covered his crotch, his blush deepening. "OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT!"

James stood frozen in place, eyes wide – eyebrows lifted.

"Oh my God we're so, so, so sorry!" Lily quickly grabbed the side of James's face and pushed it towards the door. "God! I'm so sorry!" The door was promptly slammed shut, leaving Remus and Sirius alone once more.

Remus smirked slightly before turning to look at his boyfriend. A look of pity surfaced on his face as he watched Sirius scrambled to get his pants done up. "Oh Sirius, let me."

Sirius turned and looked down at Remus quickly before covering his face with his hands. "Shit, shit, shit, shit..."

"They'll get over it." Remus had zipped up Sirius' pants, and was now working on the button.

"That's not the fucking point!"

"Then what is?" Remus sat back and let his hands fall to Sirius' thighs.

"The point is – they saw you giving me head!"

Remus tilted his head to the side, one eyebrow raised, the other creased downwards. "...So?"

"How can you be so calm about it?!" Sirius entered a state of panic and tried to stand up.

Remus knew that if he allowed Sirius to stand that his mate would run. So, instead, Remus sighed and got up on his knees, taking Sirius' face in his hands. "Sirius... listen."

Sirius whimpered slightly as he looked into Remus' eyes.

"Listen, okay?"

"O-okay..."

"It doesn't matter. I certainly don't care anymore who knows that I give you head and, oh god – that I fuck you too." Remus voice was heavy with sarcasm as he raised his eyebrows. "And you shouldn't either. Okay?"

"But Remus-"

"No buts... well, not yet anyway..." This gained a small smile from Sirius. "Don't ruin my good mood by becoming a chicken shit and being scared because James and Lily saw me giving you head – even though they knew that it happened anyway."

"But still... they saw me..."

"Yes, and is it really something to be ashamed of, Siri?" Remus lent forward and stopped just a few inches short of Sirius' face. "I certainly wouldn't be ashamed if I was as big as you. 7 ½ inches is nothing to be ashamed of."

Sirius blush deepened as he creased his eyebrows together and smiled. "You're fucking unbelievable."

"No, I'm fucking you," Remus grinned as he lent forward and kissed Sirius gently on the lips. "Now that you're settled..." He kissed Sirius again. "How about those joints you promised me...?"

"I think... that if I move... I'll get sick."

"Excellent... then give me the brass dick and I'll do it myself." Remus let go of Sirius' cheeks and stood up, brushing off his knees. "Please?"

"You've done a complete 180 on me in about the time span of 20 minutes. So, I address the man standing infront of me, answer me these questions... err... two: who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?" Sirius looked up into Remus' eyes, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Hmm... well... for the moment, I've chucked him out the window into a dumpster full of banana peels and cats. Mind you, I did hope that he landed safely and didn't hurt anything vital to his existence..." Remus's grin widened as he looked down at Sirius. "So I suppose that I havn't completely disposed of him."

"Good... because if you did – I'd feel like I was dating myself."

"And what's so horrible about dating someone who's completely gorgeous and not to mention someone who's brilliant in bed?" Remus placed his hands to his slender hips.

"Err..." Sirius raised one eyebrow and puckered his lips to the side in thought.

"Exactly... now hand me the brass dick. I can't wait to use it!"

Sirius laughed and lay back, grabbing both the lighter and bag of gillyweed. "I love the new you."

Remus sat down on the foot of the bed next to Sirius and frowned – crossing his legs towards his mate. "Do you still love the old me?"

"Of course! I love all of your personalities just the same... I just favour this one."

Remus laughed. "Mmm... why?" Remus took the joint that Sirius had taken out of the bag and handed to him.

"Well, for starters – you convinced me that it was okay for James and Lily to see you giving me head, and secondly, the new you wants to smoke up – and that's bloody spectacular. Then, for a third helping, you're acting completely carefree, you're acting your age – something you havn't ever done come to think of it..."

"Is this a good thing?"

"Most definitely." Sirius placed the joint between his lips and looked over at Remus. "Would you like to light yours first?"

"You are so very kind to me, Mr. Black." Remus took the lighter and smiled as he placed the joint into the corner of his mouth. He held the lighter up and watched as it caught the light. "Mmm... how I love thee, beautiful, shining brass dick."

"Not more than mine I'd hope..."

"Definitely not more than yours..." Remus looked at Sirius from the corner of his eye. "And why? Because this one doesn't twitch when I lick it..." And with that last statement, Remus clicked down on the clasp and inhaled, smiling as his lungs filled with smoke. When he looked over to Sirius, in order to hand him the lighter – he tipped his head to the side, smoke filtering out of his mouth as he spoke. "What?"

Sirius closed his mouth and let his eyebrows fall from their lifted position to a more natural place. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Mmm... well," Remus smiled when Sirius took the lighter. "I don't really feel like censoring myself tonight."

"That's absolutely fine." Sirius smirked and lit his joint. He returned his gaze to Remus and let his smile fall as he looked into Remus's eyes. "...What?"

"Nothing." Remus giggled slightly and took another drag of the joint, not coughing this time.

"I know when your lying, and you're currently lying... so spit it out."

"Too late, I swallowed already." Remus covered his mouth and squealed. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry, that was horrible of me to say!"

Sirius was too busy laughing to notice the apology. Soon enough, Remus joined in with the laugher and found that once they had finally shifted from prolonged fits of soundless laughs that their joints had burned down to a little over 6cm.

"Shit..." Remus looked down at the joint and frowned, his hand shaking as he held it.

Sirius stopped and looked down at Remus' hand, "You're shaking."

"I know."

"Is that bad?"

"No."

"How do you know?"

"Because my hands have been shaky my whole life?"

"Oh."

"You never noticed?"

"No."

"Oh."

Remus and Sirius exchanged glances and burst into another round of laughter.

"Shit! Remus! We're wasting good gillyweed!"

"It doesn't really matter, does it? We've got tons more where it came from..." Remus laid back and picked up the bag, throwing it in Sirius' direction. Remus stayed on his back, smiled, and took a long drag of the joint. "Besides," He took another drag, still holding the smoke from the previous one in his lungs. "you got it for free from the two rainbow fairies."

"Yeah... that's true. I think it's time that I replenish the supply though..." Sirius watched as ash fell to the worn out wooden floor and placed a hand to Remus' thigh. "What do you think?"

"I think you should too." Remus blew out the smoke he had been holding in his lungs and watched as the smoke rose from his lips to billow out at the top of the canopy, creating a ceiling of smoke overtop of him.

Sirius nodded and took a few last drags of his joint and dropped it to the floor, and grabbed Remus' discarded shoe to put out the smoking embers. He then reached back, took Remus' joint, and did the same. After both joints had been put out, and Sirius made sure they weren't smoking anymore – he lay down beside the young wizard beside him.

"Rem?"

"Yes?"

Sirius propped his arms behind his head and lift his shoulders up slightly, groaning when they cracked. "Do you have any pets?"

Remus took off his socks and turned onto his side, bringing his knees up as he rest his head on his hand. "A fair few."

"How many?" Sirius turned his head and looked up at Remus.

"Hmm... well, we've got a dog named Finnleigh," Remus sighed slightly before continuing. "he's the one who comes with me during the months when we aren't at school."

"What kind of dog is he?"

"Irish Wolfhound... huge bugger of a thing."

Sirius smiled and turned his head, looking up at the canopy again. "Is that all?"

"Well, yes and no. Finnleigh is the only one who is currently with us. The others are at my grandmother's château." Remus cleared his throat and scratched his knee. "She's got our horses Olivia, Rolph and Cotter at the stables there..."

"You've got horses?"

"Yes... well... me as in my grandmother bought them for my Mama, my Papa and myself."

"She bought you horses? But I thought you were... erm..."

"Not well off? No, well my family and I aren't... but she is. She owns this huge plot of land somewhere in the middle of the French countryside." Remus trailed off as he sighed. "Then we've got the farm cats – 3 of those... lets' see... their names are Pontu – he's mine, Jilly, and Roux." Remus' French accent came out in full force as he spoke those three names, and it caused Sirius to laugh. Remus furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at Sirius. "What?"

"What were their names?"

"Pontu, Jilly, and Roux..."

Sirius laughed again. "The first one?"

Remus' voice fell quiet a few octaves as he spoke, his eyebrows still furrowed. "Pontu... are you making fun of my cat?"

"No!" Sirius's laughing just died down as he turned to look at his boyfriend. "No! No, I've just never heard you say anything with a French accent."

"You have heard me. I said Mari with a French accent, and god knows I told you that I loved you in another language, only meaning that it had to have an accent tacked onto it." Remus waited for Sirius' giggles to stop. "Do you want me to tell you about my pets or not?" He couldn't help but laugh himself as he spoke.

"Yes! Yes, I'm sorry. Go on."

"Anyway..." Remus eyed his boyfriend sternly and smiled in a satisfied manner when he finally stopped laughing. "So there's the dog, three horses, three cats, and the fish."

"Just a fish? You got mad at me so you could tell me about a fish?"

"It's not just any fish..."

"Oh is it a big fish?"

"No. It's a goldfish." Remus closed his eyes and shook his head slightly when he spoke, an air of sophistication edging in his voice.

Sirius turned to look at Remus once more, a smile on his lips. "A goldfish. What's its name then?"

With the same air of sophistication, Remus spoke again. "Her name is Binky."

"Binky the goldfish?" Sirius made no attempt to hide his large smile as he let out a single syllable laugh.

"Yes. And she's the first pet I've ever had."

"How so?"

"She's my familiar actually..." Remus raised one eyebrow and let the other crease downwards. "But Mama made me get Pontu, the cat – because she didn't think that Binky would have been good enough to protect me. You know, I think she really hurt Binky's feelings when she said that. And my Mama had the nerve to say it right infront of her too. I felt so horrible for poor Binky... she pouted for days."

Sirius stared at his boyfriend with a smile frozen on his face, and his eyebrows raised. "Well is she okay now then?"

"Yes, she's fine. She's gotten over it." Remus smiled as he looked down and picked at the comforter. "I know how stupid I must sound, so stop looking at me like that. I can't help it if I love my fish."

"No, I don't think you sound stupid, Rem... I'm actually enjoying talking to you and having you respond like the teenager that you should respond as... or something to that effect..." Sirius smiled and lent over, kissing the tip of Remus' nose.

"You're sure you don't think I sound like a blathering idiot?" Remus looked up at Sirius from under his long eyelashes.

"Of course not."

Remus smiled. "So have you got any pets?"

"Nope... just my familiar, Fred."

"Fred the lovely owl?"

"Mhm. He's my only pet. My family won't allow me to have anything else... it took them long enough to agree for me to have a familiar – and to have a familiar is required." Sirius sighed. "And by my family, of course, I'm referring to my mother. God I can't believe that old bat is making me take everything out of my room and bring it to Hogwarts so the Malfoy's can stay in my house."

"You shouldn't speak ill of your mother, Siri." Remus looked up from the mattress and traced the profile of Sirius' face with his eyes.

Instead of replying, Sirius sighed. "I hate her for making me do this."

"Well how much stuff can you have?"

"Enough to fill a room the size of the smallest classroom in this school." Sirius sighed again.

"You... you have that much...?"

"Mhm." Sirius looked over at Remus and immediately regretted answering the question. "I'm sorry..."

"No. It's alright." Remus smiled and rolled onto his back. His voice was rather cheery as he spoke. "You don't need to apologize. Why are you apologizing anyway?"

"Because you havn't got as much as I do... and when I talk about it... it's like I'm flaunting the fact that my family has money and yours doesn't."

Usually, Remus would have taken offence to this statement, but instead shrugged and let it drift by. "Oh it doesn't matter, really." Remus let out a sigh and changed the subject. "I've decided to tell my Mama about us."

"What?"

"Yeah..." Remus turned to face Sirius and smiled, bringing his knees closer to his chest. "I want to tell her about us because-" He trailed off and propped himself up on his elbow smiling as he twirled a piece of Sirius hair in his fingers. "Your hair is so amazingly soft, you know that?" Remus then lent up and buried his nose in Sirius' hair, taking in the scent – laughing slightly when a few strands tickled his nose. "And it smells good too."

Sirius smiled, completely forgetting what Remus was about to say. "Thank-you... but it's getting a bit long though, I should probably cut it."

"Don't cut all of it... just get a trim around the nape of your neck and your bangs. In other words, just re-shape it. I love your hair when it's long." Remus continued to twirl a lock of Sirius' hair around his long, graceful fingers.

Sirius reached up to brush the back of his fingers against Remus' cheek. The two caught each other's eyes. Sirius broke the silence first. "I don't want you to go to France."

Remus sighed and let go of the hair he was playing with. Instead, he began to run his fingers through the length of Sirius' hair, calming his lover. "I don't want to go either, but I don't really have a choice."

"If she dies before school ends, will you still have to go?"

Remus' solemn face broke out into a kind smile. "Yes. We'll have to clean up her estate and wait around until it's been sold, and we also have to find places for the animals to go to."

"What're you going to do while you're there?"

"Go to secondary wizarding school I suppose." Remus sighed. "I'll have to wait until after the N.E.W.Ts to know which schools I can get into."

Sirius nodded and moved his hand to take Remus' free hand. He twined their fingers together and rest them both on his stomach, shifting his position so that his head was resting in the crook of Remus' arm, near his armpit. He smiled as he felt Remus' steady breath fall on his forehead.

Remus cleared his throat slightly. "When you said that you're still a virgin in the anal sex department... isn't that a lie?"

"...What do you mean?"

Remus shifted, resting his head on the palm of his hand. "Well... havn't you fooled around with other guys before?"

"Yes. But I havn't ever had sex with any of them. I wouldn't let myself do it, and I sure as hell wasn't about to let them do it."

"Oh..." Remus moved to rest his cheek on Sirius' head and frowned. "When did you know that you were gay?"

"I'd say about the middle of 6th year."

"...Th... Then why did you almost... with Madeline?"

Remus felt Sirius tense under his arm at the mention of her. Though the pain of finding the two together still lanced through Remus' heart, he gently lift his cheek and brushed Sirius' bangs away from his forehead – placing a gentle kiss to the newly exposed skin before resting his cheek once more on Sirius' forehead. This simple gesture seemed to help Sirius relax as the subject was brought up.

"I don't know why I did it." Sirius took in a shaking breath, not liking where the conversation was going. "I honestly don't know why I did it."

Remus nodded against his lover and kissed him again. Sometime during the night, the two had somehow moved up on the bed, so that their heads were on the pillows. They lay in silence for a long while, neither of them really sure what to say. Remus had untangled their hands, and was now running his fingers lightly up and down Sirius' bare forearm – as Sirius had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. The two would join hands again, and watch as their fingers moved together – sliding in and out of each other's grasps, both of them smiling.

"What time is it?" Sirius yawned slightly as he scooted closer towards Remus' body.

Remus turned his right wrist, still not letting go of Sirius' hand. "3:21am."

"Wow... time passes quickly..."

"Well we left the ball at a bit after midnight, and got here at about 12:30... and we've been laying silent for the past hour." Remus untangled their hands and bodies and lightly pushed Sirius onto his back as he moved to straddle him.

Sirius nodded slightly and sat up; taking Remus into his arms as he rest his head on Remus' shoulder. Remus smiled and raised his legs so that his knees were just under Sirius' armpits; he then let his arms hang loosely around Sirius' neck.

"Are you tired?"

"No."

Remus nodded and rest his cheek against Sirius' head as he brought up his hands to gently comb through the back of Sirius hair.

Sirius breath was warm against Remus' throat as he spoke. "Why don't you ever call me Padfoot?"

"Because to me... you're Sirius. Does it bother you that I don't call you by that name?"

"No."

Remus smiled and lent back, lightly guiding Sirius' head back with his hands. Remus's eyes traveled across Sirius' features, almost as if he was memorizing them. Long, graceful fingers traced their way across Sirius brow, his cheeks, and his lips - finally coming to a rest at his jaw line, pulling him in for a kiss. The kiss was slow and gentle, and Remus felt his heart begin to race as they kissed.

Sirius ended the kiss first, feeling the change in his mate's heartbeat. He smiled and let his hands roam around Remus' back, coming to a rest on his shoulder blades. Remus smiled back and once more let his fingers trace over Sirius' face, biting his bottom lip as he did so. Sirius kept his eyes trained on Remus', watching as Remus' eyes fluttered around his face. Remus' smile fell to a slight curve of his full lips as he let his bottom lip free of the grasp his teeth had on it. Fingers brushed over Sirius' lips and jaw, barely touching the skin as they moved. Sirius closed his eyes as Remus let his fingers glide across Sirius' eyelashes; he opened them again only to be greeted with a pair of glassy amber eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Remus' nose flared slightly as he let his hand fall from Sirius' temple to his cheek, caressing the well-formed bone - sending shivers to shoot through Sirius' body as Remus moved his thumb. Remus' voice was shaking when he answered the question. "I don't want to go to France." As he closed his eyes, a tear fell from under his long lashes.

"Remus..."

Ever the positive person, Remus opened his eyes and smiled, moving his legs slightly as he reached down to undo the buttons of Sirius' shirt. Sirius merely watched Remus' eyes for any change in emotion as he felt his shirt being tugged out of his pants. Remus brushed the thin silk fabric aside, running his hands along the hard muscles of Sirius' shoulders, down his chest and back up again. He pushed Sirius down onto the bed, waiting until Sirius's head rest on the pillow before leaning over him and kissing his collarbone.

Sirius shook his head and lifted one hand to rest it on Remus' neck. "...Remus,"

"Please...?" Remus' voice was near a whisper, his eyes pleading for Sirius to say yes.

"Why?"

Remus felt his heart slam against his chest as he looked down into Sirius' eyes, knowing that this was the time to be solemn. "Because I need to be close to you."

Sirius let his hand rest on Remus' neck for a moment longer before pulling him down into a gentle kiss. Sirius's voice was soft and gentle when he spoke, coming in a rush of warm air against his lover's lips. "Then lay beside me, not with me."

Remus hadn't been expecting Sirius to refuse an offer for sex, but just the same – a small part of him was glad that Sirius had refused. Remus nodded slightly before un-straddling him and changing position to lie beside him. Folding his right arm under his chest, Remus moved so that his chest and thighs were pressed up against Sirius' body, his left arm slung over Sirius' chest, curling around his shoulder and clutching at the fabric of Sirius' shirt. Remus rest his head on Sirius' shoulder, feeling his arm brush across his shoulders and come to a rest just under his armpit, pulling him closer still. Sirius bent his arm towards his own head and untangled Remus' fingers from his shirt, instead, tangling his own fingers with Remus'. Remus smiled against Sirius' chest, closing his eyes as he felt Sirius' lips lightly kiss his forehead.

Remus took a short breath, keeping his eyes closed. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For trying to make everything I'm feeling go away by trying to have sex with you instead of talking about it," Remus felt his lips quiver slightly as he continued to speak. "I shouldn't have done that, it was wrong of me to want to, and-"

"Shh... it doesn't matter, Rem." The hand that Sirius had been resting on Remus' rib cage moved, tightening a little at first, then releasing and lightly caressing his side. "What are you so upset about?"

"The fact that I'll be leaving you in four months and then after that... I won't know how long it will be until I see you again." Remus took a deep breath, letting it out when he opened his eyes.

"That's four months away... concentrate on what we have now. Don't worry about the future, it will sort itself out."

"How can you be sure? How can you know that we will see eachother again?"

"Because it doesn't work that way, Rem. You don't just fall in love and then just leave that person with no promise of a future." Sirius sighed slightly before continuing. "Don't doubt what we have, Remus."

"I don't doubt it, I'm just afraid that it will end when I leave."

"Do you want it to end when you leave?"

Remus didn't answer right away. Instead he kissed Sirius' chest and moved his leg so that it was lying overtop of Sirius'. "No. I don't ever want it to end... But we're teenagers, Sirius – how can we be sure that it will last?"

Sirius moved and instead of leaving his arm around Remus, he propped himself up on his elbow, moving the hand that was holding Remus' to place it to the side of his boyfriend's face. Remus lay propped on his own elbow, looking into Sirius' eyes. "Remus, if you think that trying to sever the bond between us is going to make it easier for you when you leave, it's not going to work. Either way, we're both going to be just as upset. Please don't do this now, not when we need eachother the most."

"I just... why does this have to be so hard? Why can't this happen to someone else?" Remus felt his eyes begin to feel with tears, noticing that the same thing was happening to his mate.

Sirius lightly rubbed his thumb along Remus' cheekbone, his smile allowed a tear to fall down his cheek. "I don't know all the answers... I can't claim to." He swallowed as he lent forward. "But... I do know... that I love you and I won't let you go without a fight."

Remus closed his eyes just as his own tears cascaded down his cheeks, and he then rest his forehead against Sirius'. "I love you too..."

Sirius lent forward and kissed Remus gently, smiling when the kiss ended. "This is getting far to depressing..." Sirius sat up and rubbed his eyes. "We need to pick up the pace a little."

Remus laughed slightly as he wiped his own eyes and sat up. "Then what do you propose we do?"

Sirius looked around the room, and spotted the bag of gillyweed. He smirked and crawled towards it, picking it up when he got there. Sirius spoke as he moved into a kneeling position. "How about we give your beloved brass dick a second use other than being the object of your affections?"

"Lust. The object of my lust." Remus smiled and crawled towards Sirius, kissing him quickly before speaking again. "That sounds like a wonderful plan."

"Brilliant!" Sirius smiled and hopped off the bed. "...Where's the lighter?"

"Urhm..." Remus moved and sat at the foot of the bed, swinging his legs back and forth – since they didn't quite touch the ground. "Near the couch? Didn't you throw it?"

"Why would I throw it?" Sirius paused and looked around the room. "Where's your wand?"

"On the coffee table."

"Excellent!" Sirius swiveled on one foot and nearly skipped towards the table, picking up the wand when he got there. "Accio Brass Penis Lighter." Sirius smiled as the lighter flew out from under the couch and into his hand. "Excellent... good brass dick." Sirius closed his fist around the lighter and placed Remus' wand back onto the table. He walked back towards Remus and kissed his cheek. "Much thanks for the use of your wand."

Remus smiled and handed Sirius one of the joints from the bag. "I'm sure my wand thanks you."

Sirius grin widened as he looked down at Remus' crotch, then back to his eyes.

Remus sighed. "Not that wand."

Sirius placed the joint into his mouth and shrugged with his hands in the air, level with his chest. "Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?"

"Indeed, and it'll stay a dream for at least an hour more." Remus smiled and lent forward, placing his own joint in his lips as Sirius held the lit lighter infront of his face. When he looked back up again, Sirius sported a crooked smile and was shaking his head. "What now?"

"I still can't get over the sight of seeing you smoking." He raised his eyebrows slightly as he lit his own joint. "It's rather odd to see your goody-two-shoes boyfriend smoking." Sirius held the joint between two fingers in on his left hand, holding out the other hand to Remus.

"I am not a goody-two-shoes." Remus scowled as he took Sirius outstretched hand. "And what are we doing?"

"Dancing." Sirius wrapped his arm around Remus' waist, placing the joint in his other hand into his lips.

"But there's no music."

"Ahh... excellent deduction skills, Mr. Lupin." With a grin, Sirius walked quickly towards the coffee table, picking up Remus' wand again, pointing it at a fuchsia pillow, and muttering an incantation. Within a few seconds, a fuchsia radio had been transfigured from the pillow. Sirius smiled at his accomplishment, and bent down to switch the station.

"Country, Sirius?"

"Why not?"

"You don't like country."

"But you do, don't you?"

Remus cleared his throat and blushed slightly. "...Sometimes." He added more to the statement as Sirius raised his eyebrows. "That's what happens when you were raised on it."

"No need to defend you music tastes with me, my darling Remus – I shant tell a soul of your deep, dark secret." Sirius flashed him a quick smile and took a drag of his joint.

"We can listen to something else if you want."

"Nonsense." Sirius smiled as he took Remus into his arms again. "Country is just fine."

Remus raised his arm and rest it on Sirius shoulder, taking Sirius's other hand in his. "Why do you get to lead?" He spoke as his joint hung from his lips.

"Because I am a man."

"And I'm not?" Remus scowled as Sirius led them to the beat of the song.

Sirius smiled. "Of course you're a man. You're a petite man though, and it would just look odd if you led."

Remus scoffed rather loudly. "Petite?"

"Oui, Monsieur, petite."

"Oh, are you French now?"

"Oui." Sirius smirked as he looked down at Remus, one eyebrow raised.

"Then tell me, my sweet Frenchman – serenade me with your words." Remus sucked in on his joint, amazed that he didn't let it drop when he exhaled.

Sirius made a show of clearing his throat before he spoke, still leading Remus around the room. "Toute huile pendra feu sil elle est surchauffée. Si l'huile fume, réduire la température."

Remus threw his head back and laughed, not caring that the joint had fallen from his lips and rolled somewhere to the side. Once his laughter had died down a bit, Remus managed to speak. "Have you any idea what you just said?"

"Not a bloody clue." Sirius smiled as he looked down at his dancing partner.

"You just told me that if any oil overheated it would burn, and that if the oil smokes – I should reduce the heat." Remus grinned as he looked up at Sirius.

"I memorized that off of some container of oil my mother has... that would explain it. Did I pronounce everything correctly?"

Remus grinned as he looked into Sirius' eyes. "Yes, you did."

"Excellent! I think I'm well on my way to becoming a Frenchman, don't you think?"

"Definitely." Remus shook his head, a smile still on his lips. Sirius had an amazing gift – the gift that allowed him to make any situation – no matter how sad, become a happy one.

"Where's your joint?"

"On the floor, I think."

Sirius gasped as he took his own joint out of his mouth. "Blasphemer! Get on your hands and knees and find it!" Sirius spoke in a commanding voice, a smile playing on his lips.

"Yes, Sir." Remus saluted him and dropped to his knees, searching around the floor. Once he found the joint, he noticed that it had burnt a small hole in the wood of the floor – but was still smoking. He smiled as he turned to look up at Sirius, holding the joint between his thumb and pointer finger. "Here, found it."

"Brilliant! You may re-join me."

Remus stood and eyed his boyfriend. "And if I don't want to?"

"Then you'll be forced to dance on your own, somewhere off in the corner – somewhere alone." Sirius finished with narrowing eyes.

Remus laughed. "Much like you are now?"

Sirius smiled as he looked down at himself. He had been dancing in spot for the last few seconds. "I can't help it if my body seems to move to the rhythm without my knowledge or consent."

"Indeed..." Remus smiled and stepped forward, placing his arm in the same place it had been before. Sirius greeted his movement with a smile and once more wrapped his arm around Remus' waist.

With his free hand, Sirius held his joint up to Remus' lips. Remus smiled before leaning forward and taking a drag.

The two had finished their joints and hadn't slept at all, as they had stayed up all night – dancing, singing off key to eachother, and talking. They had only noticed the passing of time when the sun had begun to rise, and the birds began to sing. The boys' found themselves sitting on opposite ends of the couch, playing a muggle game named 'Go Fish', considering every other game that Remus knew proved to be too hard for Sirius to understand.

Sirius brought his cards up near his eyes and narrowed one eye, leaving the other open when he looked at Remus. "Have you got a five?"

Laughing, Remus shook his head. "Go fish."

"Damn..." Sirius picked up a card and his expectant smile turned abruptly into a frown when he saw the card. Sirius quite enjoyed picking up cards and collecting them in his hand – it was his favorite part of the game.

"Have you got an ace?"

Sirius remained quiet for a moment, looking at his cards. "Shit." He picked out the card and passed it over to Remus. "Why must you take my cards?"

"Because the object of the game is to get as many pairs as you can, Siri. You're not supposed to be collect... oh dear... have you got any pairs in your hand?"

"Yes."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Then put them down! I was beginning to wonder why you had so many damn cards in your hands." Remus smiled, as he looked to the side and ashed his joint.

A few minutes later, Sirius had laid out as many pairs as he had – coming to a grand total of seven. Reaching over, Sirius picked up his cigarette from the ashtray and took a drag, holding it in his fingers as he looked up at Remus. "There, all better. Your turn."

"Have you got a nine?"

"AH-HAH! Noo, I haven't! Go fish!" Sirius broke out into a smile as he triumphantly watched Remus pick up a card, only to watch him put it back down again with a card of the same number. "Heyy... that's cheating."

"No it isn't, I picked up a matching card – so that means that I can put it down with its mate."

"I'd like to put you down..." Sirius narrowed his eyes at Remus and glared.

"Oh would you really?"

"Yes..." Sirius looked down at Remus as he tilted his head to the side slightly, taking a drag of his smoke.

Remus laughed and motioned to Sirius with his cards as he put out his joint. "It's your turn."

"Ooh!" Sirius smiled immediately and looked down at his hand, furrowing his eyebrows when he looked up again. "What time is it?"

Remus lift his arm and was about to answer when James came bursting through the door behind him.

"GET READY! CLASS STARTS IN 10 MINUTES!"

"Fuck!" Remus jumped up and hopped over the back of the couch, landing lightly on his feet and grabbing both his and Sirius' robes from James' arms. "Why didn't you come earlier?!"

"Because I thought you two would have come back last night! Hurry up! We've got McGonagall first – I'll wait for you downstairs." James watched as Sirius put out his smoke before quickly shutting the door behind him.

Remus turned and gasped when he saw that Sirius was standing right beside him. "Here, get changed – I'll do a charm to take care of our breath and hair."

"Yes, sir." Sirius quickly took his robes from Remus and began to change.

The two had successfully changed out of their clothes within 5 minutes, and had left the clothes from the night before lying in a heap on the floor beside the couch. Remus had fixed both his and Sirius' hair and breath with the charm, and the two now found themselves running down the steps to find James.

"Did you lock the door?" James shouted up the stairs to them.

"BULLOCKS!" Sirius yelled before he had promptly turned around and broke into a run up the stairs to mutter the locking spell on the door.

Remus laughed and shook his head as he picked up his bag. James had brought all three bags to the tower – and they all sat at the bottom of the stairs. "Thanks."

"Yeah, not a problem." James flashed Remus a smile, and turned to see Sirius dash down the stairs towards him. "Here's your bag, Pads." James tossed Sirius his bag and turned to head for the door. "Let's go!"

Remus, Sirius, and James ran the whole way to the school, cursing each step they had to run up on their way to McGonagall's class once they had made it into the school. The three came to a stop at the room, seeing that all the students were still waiting outside of the class.

James and Sirius panted heavily as they moved to lean against the wall on the opposite side of the hall across from the room. Remus followed them, bending slightly and placing his hands to his knees as he caught his breath.

"I... hate... this... school..." James panted as he ran a hand through his hair. "Why couldn't they-" He gasped slightly as his throat was dry. "invest in some moveable step or something?"

"Because we're wizards, Prongsie..." Sirius smiled slightly as his breathing was still heavy. "We can just apparate."

"That's.... illegal..." Remus put in just as he looked up. "I'm hungry and my mouth feels like it's made of powder..."

Sirius grinned as he turned to look at Remus. "Me too."

"You guys got high?" James looked back and forth between Sirius and Remus, finally having caught his breath. The two nodded. "Are you still high?"

Remus and Sirius looked at eachother and smirked.

"WHAT?!" James' mouth fell open. "You've GOT to be kidding me!"

Sirius clamped his hand over James's mouth, holding the back of James' head with his free hand. "Shut it, James... we don't need to get in trouble."

James' shock had melted into a smile and he nodded his head as Sirius let go of him. "Yeah, alright. When was the last time you-"

"About 15 minutes ago." Remus answered with a tight smile on his lips.

"Jesus Christ..." James shook his head as he looked from Sirius to Remus. "Good luck today." He laughed as he turned to walk towards the recently opened classroom. "This is going to be a very interesting day."

Sirius and Remus looked at eachother and groaned as they followed James into the class. Having already took his seat; Peter looked towards his friends and shook his head.

"You were nearly late."

"Stuff it, Wormtail." Sirius grinned as he spoke. This was the complete opposite of the way he had meant for it to come out - in a horribly negative manner.

Remus moved to sit down on his chair and nearly fell off of the seat. "Shit!" He gasped when Sirius caught him around the midsection to keep him from falling to the stone floor.

Sirius laughed as Remus sat down in his actual seat. "Be more careful next time."

"Well it's not my fault that it felt like the chair was under my ass when it was really off to the damn side..." Remus scoffed. "Some chairs are real bloody prattish in their dispositions."

Sirius laughed again as he looked at Remus. "Prattish? What's that?"

Remus opened his mouth and was about to answer, promptly furrowed his eyebrows, and closed his mouth – as he had just forgotten what he was about to say. "You know, I have no bloody idea what a 'prattish' is..."

"It sounds rather like a radish." James offered as he dipped the tip of his quill into the pot of ink. "Perhaps a small, furry animal."

"Such as yourself?" Sirius smirked as he turned to talk to James.

"Oh so-" James stopped suddenly as his eyes widened, laughing slightly. "Look at his eyes, Peter! They're so red!"

"What?" Peter looked up and stifled a grin. "Yes... yes they are fairly red, Sirius."

Sirius cursed and looked towards Remus. "Remus!"

"Sirius?" Remus turned to look at his boyfriend with a smile on his lips.

"Oh fuck..."

Remus' face turned serious within seconds at Sirius' words. "What?"

"Shit! Our eyes are all bloodshot!" Sirius cursed again, rubbed his eyes, and looked back up at Remus as he spoke. "Think McGonagall has ever gotten high?"

Remus burst out into laughter and clapped his hands once. "You've got to be out of your fucking mind, Sirius! No way in hell has that old bat ever-"

"Excuse me Mr. Lupin?!"

Remus turned and looked towards the front of the classroom. "Oh shit..."

Professor McGonagall's glare seemed to deepen as she stared at Remus. It was then, that Remus then made the biggest mistake of his life. His solemn face broke out into a smile, hardly being contained as it escalated into laughter.

Remus completely ignored the increasingly annoyed Professor and turned to speak to Sirius. "Have you ever noticed how all those pre-mature wrinkles stand out when she's mad?"

Sirius' laugh started as a quick nasal snort before both he and Remus broke out into loud laughter. Sirius turned to look at the Professor, and that only fueled his laughter. The Professor was standing at the front of the room with her hands on her hips, nostrils flared, and a scowl set upon her face. Remus looked towards the front of the class and clasped his hands over his mouth – still not doing much to halt his laughing. Though, at the time, it did seem to be a good idea in his inebriated state.

"Right. DETENTION!" McGonagall snapped as she watched the two boys dissolve into yet another loud fit of laughter.

The rest of the class was having a hard time trying not to join in, but seeing how furious the Professor was – it provided a very good excuse not to break out and follow Sirius and Remus' example of what not to do in Professor McGonagall's classroom.

"SHE JUST SPIT!" Sirius screamed out suddenly though his charade, pointing at the Professor. Thus, causing Remus to let his hands fall from his face and break out into a round of silent laughter.

The Professor had had enough of this mistreatment – and began to scream at the two misbehaving 7th years. "I would have expected this from Mr. Black – but from you, Mr. Lupin?! Get out of my class... NOW! BOTH OF YOU! GET OUT!" She thrust her finger towards the door. "I will be contacting the Headmaster concerning your behavior!" She watched as Remus and Sirius packed up their bags, still laughing. "50 Points from Gryffindor! From the both of you!"

No matter the consequences that ensued, the last thing that the class heard before the door slammed, was a loud whoop of joy. For two very stoned Marauders had just gained their first free period of the day.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I'm not going to write tons down here... for no words are really coming to me. At the moment, it feels as if I've been actively rolling around in fibreglass - so I ITCH LIKE NO ONES BUISNESS. _MWARWUHASUDHS_... Ehhem - I apologize. -smiles-

I did want to address a few people, but - that'll come next chapter, I promise. I love you all still, each and every one of you. -smiles- Anyway, um... thank-you to the readers from this story who read "Strange and Beautiful" - It was a huge change for me when I wrote that... and I'm glad you liked it.

There won't be any spoilers - as I have yet to think of one... Haa... -shifty eyes-

Anyhow, let me know what you thought of the chapter by reveiwing - I love you all for it. Thank-you in advance. Also, if I don't adress you personally, don't take offence to it - because if I addressed everyone, the chapters would never end, you know? I still love you even if I don't mention you.

Thank-you all for being patient with me while I wrote this, as the ideas would come and go, as would the fluent writing moods. -smiles- I hope you enjoyed reading the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Catch you all on the flipside!!!! -leaves out cookies, crackers, chips, and fruit-


	29. Chapter 29 : Hard R

AUGH!!! I'm SOOOOO Sorry for making you all wait for so DAMNED long! I couldn't get the ideas to flow out of my mind, and I got distracted rather quickly as I had started to read Harry-Draco slash again... and, who can write Remus-Sirius slash when they have two entierly differnt people in their mind?! It's absurd.

Anyhow, this is the longest chapter to date - somewheres up of 12,000 words... so, I made it supra long to make up for those 10 or so days of nothing... PLEASE ENJOY! (Look for LONG author's notes at the bottom...!)

**THIS PART MUST BE READ: Oh! And whatever is _italic_ between Remus and his father is to be preceived as being French when they speak to eachother. And anything in single quotations, 'like this', is to be taken as mind speech between Remus and Sirius. ON WITH THE STORY!**

PS: For effect near the end, listen to soft or quiet-comforting music... I reccomend downloading the song "Finding Nemo", you know, the song at the beginning of the movie? It's the one I was listening to when I wrote the end half of the fic.

* * *

Sirius and Remus had made their way out of the school and towards the tree they had always met at in 5th year. The very tree that stood tall and proud in the background as James and Sirius tortured a poor 5th year Slytherin named Severus Snape, the tree that watched silently as Severus' robe fell over his body to reveal his skivvies infront of a crowd of people. Sirius bent down and pat the ground, checking for moisture – and when he found none he threw his bag down, falling to the ground himself to sit under the sun. Remus followed suit, sitting down next to his boyfriend and leaning against the rough bark of the tree. 

"We lost our house 100 points, Sirius."

Sirius sighed and bought his knees up, resting his elbows on his knees as he ran his hands through his hair – stopping at the back of his head to hold his skull as he looked down into his lap. "I know."

"We're going to be in so much trouble." Remus crossed his arms and legs, rolling his neck to look over at Sirius.

Sirius groaned. "I know..." He let his hands travel down the rest of his hair, letting his hands come to a rest on his shoulders – black hair twined between his fingers. "We screwed up royally this time."

"Mhm." Remus' eyes moved from Sirius to the grounds of the castle. He watched as a pair of birds flew through the sky, gliding up and down, the blue bird danced with it's partner in circles while diving towards the green earth. "Do you think they'll call our parents?"

"My parents wouldn't take the time out of their day to come see the Headmaster because their son was being disobedient." Sirius crossed his arms over his knees, holding onto his right wrist with his left hand as he looked over to Remus.

Remus sighed. "I suppose you're safe then."

"Your parents will come?"

Remus was silent for a moment as he ran a hand through his hair and watched the birds fly out of view. "Yes." Remus uncrossed his arms and lent forward, resting his head in his hands – and in doing this it appeared that his body was nearly folded in half. He took in the scent of the earth as he felt Sirius' hand begin to run up and down his back, coming to a rest on his back. "Though it's not a question of if they'll come – because I know they will... it's a question of which one will come."

"Does it matter either way?"

"It does." Remus sat up and lent into Sirius' body, feeling Sirius' arm drape around his shoulders. "If my Mama comes – it won't be loud, and she'll scold me in private. If my Papa comes..." Remus sighed slightly, and spoke with a slight laugh. "it will be the complete opposite. He'll probably insult me in French, and possibly attempt to smack me upside the head as hard as he can – as often as he can." Remus shook his head, sighing again.

"Your dad abuses you?"

"He did. But it doesn't really matter, not anymore."

"What do you mean, 'not anymore'...? Of course it matters." Sirius lift his hand slightly and ran it through Remus' hair.

"Well, not anymore comes in the context that now he doesn't hit me every other minute. My Mama won't let him anymore – she says they should both stop now because I've grown up and I don't need that type of punishment as often." Remus sat up and shook off Sirius' hand as he stood. "It isn't a big deal. It never was."

"It is a big deal Remus – abuse isn't-"

Remus turned and looked down at Sirius, his voice was hard – as was his eyes when he interrupted his boyfriend. "It doesn't matter, Sirius... that was the past. In my family – when you hit your kids it was accepted as a usual part of punishment. It was used to re-enforce whatever it was they were trying to teach you. You know, play with fire, and get burnt? Would you do it again? Not likely because you remember being hurt... it's sort of like that."

Sirius nodded slightly before looking back down at the ground and crossing his arms against his chest. "Oh."

Remus shook his head and knelt down infront of Sirius, placing his hands on Sirius' knees. "You shouldn't worry about it, alright?

Sirius looked up into Remus' eyes. "Yeah, alright. But-"

"But what?"

"Won't they go off the hook if they know you're gay?"

Remus rocked on his heels slightly; letting his hands slide slowly down Sirius leg, then back up again to his knees. Remus smiled slightly and lent forward as he let his hands travel slowly down Sirius' thighs towards his arms. Closing his eyes, Remus lent forward and met Sirius' lips in a gentle kiss. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because they already know, that's why."

"How?"

"Dumbledore called them into his office and told them once he had learnt that I had found a mate. After he told my parents – he called me into his office to see them. My Mama had tears in her eyes when I came into the room; my Papa was silent as he stood with his arms crossed." Remus stopped and scratched his nose before continuing; moving both his hands from Sirius' arms to his knees after the itch had stopped. "My Mama came towards me and kissed my cheeks... I believe she was smiling, but I couldn't tell."

"And your dad?"

"My Papa... well... he didn't really care." Remus cracked his neck and sighed. "My Mama forced him to kiss my cheeks in greeting, and he did just that. No smile... just as I would have expected." Remus looked towards Sirius and raised his eyebrows. "And that's that."

Sirius nodded his head. "So they didn't accept it?"

Remus' sigh was slightly high as he spoke. "Mmm... No."

"Then why did you want to tell your Mum about us?"

"Because she deserves to know who I've chosen for my mate. She's been asking me to tell her ever since she found out, and I havn't yet... because I wasn't sure of us yet. But-"

"Mr. Black? Mr. Lupin?"

Remus turned to find the Headmaster standing behind him. He rose onto his feet immediately, followed by Sirius.

"Yes, Sir?" Remus bowed slightly in his direction, and was greeted with a smile.

"I've been informed of your actions in Professor McGonagall's classroom," Both boys felt their hearts drop as Dumbledore continued. "and I am very intrigued as to the reason behind why you both acted out in the way you did."

Remus took a deep breath and looked the Headmaster straight in the eye when he spoke. "We were inebriated, Sir."

Dumbledore tilted his head towards the boys. "Firewhiskey?"

"No. Gillyweed." Remus let his head fall to look at his feet, a sign of submission. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Sirius did not do the same.

"Ahh, and whose was it?"

Remus beat Sirius to the answer. "M-Mine, Headmaster. I-It was mine."

"Yours?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows as he took in the answer. Remus nodded. "And how did you get this gillyweed, Mr. Lupin?"

"I went against school rules and picked it from the forbidden forest. I'm sorry."

Sirius was looking at Remus with wide eyes, and his mouth hung open slightly. "What?"

Remus smiled slightly pleading for Sirius to remain quiet and let him handle the situation. "I forgot to tell you." Remus felt a shiver run through his entire body as he looked back down at the ground.

"I see, I see... I would appreciate it if you would come with me back to my quarters." Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Ah – don't worry about your bags... I'll have them delivered to your dorms." The two boys set down their bags and obediently followed Dumbledore towards the castle. "Lovely day, don't you think boys?" Dumbledore turned his head in mid stride and looked at them from over his shoulder, smiling as he watched Sirius and Remus exchange looks. "_Absolutely_ lovely..."

Dumbledore and the two young wizards had slowly made their way to the Headmaster's office. Sirius and Remus smirked slightly when they found that the password was 'Chocolate Frogs', Dumbledore merely smiled and held his arm to the side, allowing the two boys to walk up to his office before him. Sirius was first, followed by Remus and Dumbledore. Sirius stopped. His breath caught in his throat, his heart clenched, and his mouth suddenly felt very dry as he reached the top of the stairs, causing Remus to walk into his back.

Rubbing his nose, Remus cursed under his breath. "Don't just stop there, keep bloody moving..."

Sirius slowly began to walk forward, his head down as he approached the woman standing beside Dumbledore's desk. Her long black hair was taken up into an elaborate up do, held in place by a large, deep violet hat which matched her cloak. Remus decided that this woman had to be Sirius' mother, and he watched as she turned to face the two boys. Remus was about to speak again when he lost his voice. His father was standing infront of the window, arms crossed, his blue eyes seeming to be colder than Remus had ever seen before. Remus' hand fell from his nose as he walked towards his father, bowing slightly infront of him when he stopped.

"Please, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, take a seat." Dumbledore motioned for Remus and Sirius to sit. Sirius nodded slightly and muttered his thanks, sitting tall in the chair – as did Remus. Dumbledore smiled slightly and looked towards Isis Black and Armand Lupin. "Would you like some tea? Coffee perhaps?"

"No, thank-you Headmaster." Isis smiled tightly and looked towards the half-breed sitting in the chair beside her son, a sneer creeping onto her lips.

"No, thank-you." Armand spoke in a heavy French accent, and he smiled at the Headmaster before turning and narrowing his eyes at Remus. _"Sit up straight infront of your elders, child."_

_"Yes, Papa."_ Remus sat straighter than he currently was, and clasped his hands together, bowing his head as a sign of respect for both the parents present and the Headmaster.

Armand stood back and crossed his arms once more, looking towards Isis as she addressed the Headmaster.

"I have come to the understanding that we have been called here on account of my son and... that boy's unruly behavior." Isis threw a quick down-her-nose glance at Remus when she mentioned him before turning back to the Headmaster, elegantly clasping her hands at her waist.

"Yes. You are correct." Dumbledore took his own seat behind the desk and folded his hands infront of him, resting them on the desk. "It appears that they were acting as if they were inebriated and-"

"My son was what?" Armand spoke up, leaning forward.

"Inebriated... drunk." Isis looked towards Armand, a disdainful edge to her voice.

"Yes! As was your son!" Armand's answer was low and in the form of a near growl.

"I am aware of that fact, thank-you Mr. Lupin." Isis turned her attention back to the Headmaster and addressed her son. "Sirius, sit straight and fix your hair." Sirius immediately rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "Do not roll your eyes at me, Sirius – it is very unbecoming of a Black to do partake in a half-breed gesture."

"Excuse me?!" Armand stepped forward and moved towards Isis. Remus immediately jumped up and placed a hand to his father's chest.

_"Please, Papa, don't do anything to her..."_ Remus let his eyes fall to the floor as he spoke; his voice was quiet. _"Do not let yourself be riled by her...Please."_

Letting out an angered breath, Armand stepped back, nodding once as he re-crossed his arms. Remus also took his seat – sitting straight and bowing his head once more. Isis merely looked sideways at the French man, curling her lip slightly as her eyes fell upon his thick honey-blonde mustache. She then lift her chin and looked back at the Headmaster.

"As I was saying," Dumbledore took his seat again, after rising at Armand's advance on Isis. "your son's have acted very out of character, and as such – they have both affronted and humiliated their esteemed head of house – Minerva McGonagall."

"May I ask why they were permitted to become inebriated while under your care?" Isis lowered her head slightly and looked at the old man from under the brim of her hat as she narrowed her eyes at the headmaster. "Surely you havn't completely lost control of your students, Headmaster...?"

"No, no I havn't my dear Isis. I assure you... I have complete control over my students." Dumbledore smiled kindly over his half moon glasses. "But you have simply overlooked the fact that I had previously stated that the two acted as if they were inebriated. I do not remember stating that they ever were."

Armand choked back a laugh, disguising it by turning it into a cough. Isis cleared her throat politely and nodded – ignoring the reaction of the Frenchman beside her.

"What is to be their punishments then, Headmaster?" Armand looked towards the Headmaster.

"They have already had 100 points taken from their house, and have received detention from Minerva," Dumbledore paused for a moment, to take a breath.

"Then why have you called us here? Why have you asked us to take time out of our day to come to this school and-"

_"Papa..."_ Remus reached out a hand slightly, as if to silence his father.

_"Do not interrupt me when I am speaking, Remus."_ Armand's gaze turned from his son to the Headmaster, and he cleared his throat. "As I was saying, why have you asked us to take time out of our day to come to-"

"My apologies Sir, but you have not allowed me to finish was I was saying before you interrupted me." Dumbledore's eyes hardened slightly as he looked towards Armand. "I have asked you to come here not regarding their punishments nor actions, as those have been taken care of and discussed. I have asked you both here to inform you of something all together different."

"Yes, and what is that?" Isis raised her eyebrows slightly as she looked into Dumbledore's eyes. "I don't see what my son has got to do with that boy that is so important that you have called both myself and Mr. Lupin here to see you."

Armand nodded as he looked at Dumbledore. Remus looked towards Sirius, and Sirius felt his stomach drop to somewhere near his feet when he met Remus' eyes with his own.

"Excellent point Isis, but, once again – you have interrupted me before allowing me to continue and tell you why it is that I have called you here. So I will kindly ask you to remain quiet until I have finished explaining." Dumbledore raised his thick white eyebrows at the woman and Sirius' lips formed into a half smile at his mother's obvious discomfort. "The reason I have called you four here today is regarding both Remus and Sirius' highly inappropriate behavior earlier, and of course, regarding their marks."

"What?!" Sirius wasn't able to contain himself as he stared wide-eyed at the Headmaster. "What do you mean our marks? _Shit!_ Are they really bad?"

"_Sirius!_ Don't curse!" Remus furrowed his eyebrows as he looked towards his mate. Sirius immediately closed his mouth shut and smiled apologetically towards the headmaster.

Isis was about to snap at Remus for quieting her son, but stopped herself immediately when Armand stepped forward and uncrossed his arms as he glared at her. Isis immediately pursed her lips together and narrowed her eyes at the Frenchman, and looked towards the Headmaster – one eyebrow raised in discontentment.

"Oh it's quite alright..." The headmaster smiled at the young boy. "Getting down to the matter at hand... Sirius, both you and Remus have acquired the highest marks in your graduating class to date." Dumbledore finished with a proud smile.

"What?!" Both Remus and Sirius' spoke together as their jaws dropped, gawking at the headmaster.

Armand broke into a broad smile and clapped Remus on the shoulder. _"Excellent job, my son... most excellent job! Your mother will be very pleased to hear this news."_

Remus smiled sheepishly and looked up at his father, giving his response in French._ "Thank-you Papa..."_

Isis retained her rather glacial exterior and turned to her son. "Just what are his marks, Headmaster?" She raised her eyebrow at her son and looked him up and down.

Sirius looked off to the side – rolling his eyes as he slumped in the chair and crossed his legs shin to knee. Sirius crossed his arms and shook his head as his eyes bore into the wood of Dumbledore's desk, ignoring the conversation that was occurring around them. Remus looked towards his boyfriend and smiled slightly.

'Good job, Sirius. I'm proud of you.'

Sirius heard Remus' voice echo through his mind and he turned his head to look at him. A small smile spread across his own lips as he answered silently. 'Thanks... same to you.'

Remus' eyes flickered towards Sirius' lips, and then back towards his eyes. 'Is it wrong that I want to kiss you right now? Even if both our parents are in the room?' Sirius' grin widened. 'And is it also wrong that I want to jump you right now?'

Sirius couldn't help himself and he broke out laughing. Remus joined, uttering only a few chuckles before biting down on his bottom lip, smiling contently.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Isis demanded at once, her eyes burning into her son as she swirled around to look at him.

"Nothing, mother." Sirius looked up at Isis from under his eyelashes, still grinning despite his mother's growing anger. "Nothing at all."

"Remus?"

With a smile still on his lips, Remus turned to face his father – for the first time in his life... he didn't act like a dog with his tail between his legs as he addressed his father. "Yes Papa?"

"What's..." Armand shook his head slightly before closing his lips and looking back and forth between Sirius and Remus. His smile left his lips as he bent down and spoke to his son in French. _"Is this boy your mate? The one you refused to tell your mother and I about?"_

Remus didn't know if Isis knew French, but he smiled brighter and nodded his head. _"Yes."_

Armand's lips hitched up into a brief smile before his eyes turned from Remus to Isis and back again to his son. _"You've picked a good person to be with... except there is one thing that I do not, and will not ever approve of."_ Remus' heart stopped for a second as his father paused in his speech. _"...His mother."_

It was Remus' turn to laugh. _"I'm sure she won't be around often, Papa."_ Remus took a deep breath and smiled up at his father. _"Thank-you for accepting this, Father."_

Armand returned the smile and nodded his head once, eyes closed.

"Just what in the world are you two saying to eachother?!" Isis turned her attention to Armand and Remus. Her voice was low and menacing as she spoke to the two men to her right. "I do not appreciate you speaking to eachother in another language without even a second thought of the people around you! Do half-breed's not acquire any manners in their upbringing?"

Sirius stood up instantly, blocking his mother's view of Remus and Armand.

"What is the meaning of th-" Isis looked up at her son and scowled.

Sirius' voice matched his mother's growling tone of only seconds prior to this moment. "I can tolerate you berating me for simply being alive – because I've grown up with it, I'm used to it..." Sirius clenched his jaw and his nostrils flared as he cut off his mother's voice once more. "But I _will not_ stand indolently by and watch as you pick and pull apart my boyfriend and his father while in my presence."

Isis' eyes flew wide in shock. "Boyfriend?!"

"Yes mother, your precious son is gay." Sirius's smile was cruel as he glared down at his mother.

"This is absurd! No son of mine is a homose-" Isis was abruptly cut off.

"Not at all, Mrs. Black..." Remus stood and reached out to place a hand to his lover's shoulder. Stepping to the side, Sirius felt Remus' fingers brush down the back of his arm as Remus came to stand beside him. "It's the complete truth. Your son and I are together, and have been since September of last year."

Sirius' face softened as he looked down, feeling Remus' fingers twine in his. Isis' eyes traveled towards their joined hands and her face melted into one of utter revulsion.

Before Isis could say another damaging and cruel word, Dumbledore stood up and held up his hands. "Now, now, Isis – control yourself..."

"I am not about to stand here and do nothing while my son is, is... willingly touching that filthy mudblood!" Isis spat the words out as if she felt they were coated with venom.

Remus merely smiled and shook his head, Armand narrowed his eyes, and Sirius looked as if he was about to raise his hand and smack his mother hard enough across the face, causing her teeth to shatter, and resulting in her crashing to the floor with a very plebian thump. And, before Sirius would be able to – as his hand was currently rising... Dumbledore quickly interjected.

"Isis Black, remember your manners while under my roof." For the first time in the presence of his students, Dumbledore's voice was rather menacing. All four people in the room snapped their attention to the infuriated Headmaster. "And if you feel that you will not be able to contain your obvious anger, I would advise you to leave my school."

Isis stepped forward, anger blistering in her words as she spoke and thrust out an accusing finger at the Headmaster. "_You!_ Albus Dumbledore, keeping half-breed's in this school! Whatever has happened to keeping those who are clean," Isis made a point to look down at herself quickly before glancing over at Remus and Armand. "and those who are not separated, and for good reason?! You've gone soft Albus, very soft indeed."

Dumbledore's eyes sparkles slightly as he spoke. "Perhaps I have gone soft Isis. But such times call for one with humanity to be deciding what is right, and what is wrong." Dumbledore's voice had dropped to a soft tone as he folded his arms into his sleeves. "Now, I will ask you once more to leave my school immediately before I call for assistance, and have you removed by force."

Isis glared at the old Headmaster, turned her attention to her son, and harrumphed her obvious disgust as she looked down at Remus and Sirius' still joined hands. Swiftly turning on her heels, she strode to the fireplace. And, picking up a handful of floo powder, the woman growled out the destination. "Black Manor." She lifted her chin haughty and glowered at her son as she was enveloped in a green flame, swiftly being taken away to 12 Grimmauld Place.

Dumbledore's face melted into a warm smile as the three left still standing in his office turned to look at him. Picking up a small glass container – Dumbledore held it out infront of him, still smiling with raised eyebrows. "Would any of you care for a sweet?"

* * *

Time passed slowly, droning on past the days of February, March, and April. Then, April slowly faded into the beginning of May. Time spent better pulling pranks and laughing was instead spent studying, paying attention in class, and preparing for the up-coming N.E.W.Ts exams. The game between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, which was scheduled to be played at the end of February, was won 200 to 160, for Hufflepuff. Furthermore, the match between the two winning teams, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, was set for late May. This was the last game of the year to be played; this was also the game that would determine the winner of the very coveted house cup. In years prior to this – the last Quidditch match of the year was held in Mid-July, but for reasons unknown it had been scheduled two months ahead of time, thus, rushing the preparation for the final game of the year. Some speculated that it was because of the up-coming N.E.W.Ts, and the fact that the entire Gryffindor team was composed of 7th years only, and their teachers wanted nothing more than for their students – all of their students – to be well prepared for the multiple exams they were to face in two months time. It seemed a reasonable request. 

James and Sirius found themselves lying in the middle of the Quidditch field, waiting for the captain to arrive. The rest of the Gryffindor team had been alerted to a major change that would involve the whole team, and, thus making it mandatory that the team got together every second night to practice from here on in.

Sirius sat up and rubbed his hands over his face, groaning. "For May, it's really bloody hot..."

"Then stop being daft and take off your shirt."

"Oh yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you Prongsie?" Sirius grinned as he looked back at his friend who had just laid a hand over his eyes and laughed.

"Oh sod off and strip down." James cracked an eye open and looked up at his friend from under his forearm. "Oh hell, if you're going to be difficult about it, then I'll do it too."

Sirius laughed and reached down to pull off his shirt, throwing it to the side once it had been taken off. James did the same except he had balled it up under his head as he lay back down, recovering his eyes with his arm. Sirius stretched before laying back down beside his friend, letting his hands rest under his head.

Sirius yawned as he crossed his ankles together and turned to look at James. "What do you think the big news is?"

"What big news?" James looked over at Sirius with a raised eyebrow.

"You know, the reason as to why Clark called us all down here right after school ended."

"...Clark?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and sat up, crossing his legs as he turned to look at James. "Jesus, James! Clark! Richard Clark! The team captain? Remember him?"

James grinned and nodded as he watched Sirius lean back and let his hands come to a rest behind his own torso on the grass. "I dunno... the big news is probably more game tactics that he simply must show us before the big game in four weeks." James raised his leg and let his shin come to a rest over his knee.

Sirius smiled as he looked down at his torso, suddenly changing the direction of the conversation when he noticed the deeper olive complexion of his skin. "Do you think I'm to dark?"

James furrowed his eyebrows "...What?"

"My skin... did I tan to much?"

James lift his arm and neck as he looked at Sirius' torso. His eyes roamed over the muscles of Sirius' abdomen and he shook his head before letting it come to a rest again on his shirt. "No you're not to dark... why did you ask?"

"I dunno... thought maybe I was getting to brown..." Sirius laughed. "I didn't want to make Remus look even paler than he already is."

Knowing that he shouldn't join, but also not being able to resist, James bit back a laugh. "Aww that's cruel to say...! Remus isn't pale... he's just got really light olive skin."

"So he's sallow?" Sirius offered, grinning at his friend.

"Oh yes, because having light olive skin immediately classifies you as being sallow." James' chest rumbled with laughter as he shook his head. "You shouldn't insult your boyfriend's skin tone when he isn't around."

"I'm not insulting it, I'm just-"

"Referring to it as sallow." James moved and propped himself up on his elbow; looking up at the sky.

Sirius' smile was frozen on his face, as he bought his arms forward and wiped the grass off of his hands. He was running a finger over an indent of grass, which had been left in his hand as he spoke. "Do you think that we'll last?"

James turned his attention to Sirius. "What, you and me?"

"Well... yeah, but I mean... all of us. Do you think we'll always be part of each other's lives?" Sirius bent forward slightly and picked a thick blade of grass.

James sighed. "Yeah... I guess we will be. You can't be friends with someone for seven years and then just... poof... never talk again when you leave school... you know?"

"...Yeah." Sirius smirked as he placed the blade of grass between his thumbs and raised his thumbs to his lips.

"What are you-"

James was interrupted by a loud, high-pitched noise, which sounded an awful lot like a dying duck who hadn't quite made it through puberty yet. Jumping towards the long standing, and rather irritating noise, James grabbed Sirius wrist and pulled his thumbs away from his mouth.

"Ahhh... hey!" Sirius frowned as he looked at his friend. "What did you do that for?"

"Simply because you can't do it with a blade that small, Pads..." James looked around, still holding onto Sirius' wrist and, spotting a rather thick blade of grass, he lent to his left to pick it. Holding it up to Sirius' face, he smiled. "You have to use one like this."

Sirius immediately dropped the blade of grass between his thumbs and moved to take the blade from James' fingers. James quickly moved his arm away and behind his head. "Back off, get your own grass blade!"

"But I want yours..." Sirius mimicked a whining child and grabbed for the grass.

James grinned and let go if Sirius' wrist in order to ward off the incoming grabs of Sirius' hands. "Piss off... No! NO! NO SIRIUS! NO! GET _OFF_!"

By this time, Sirius had launched himself off of the grass; he and James were currently engaged in an epic battle to see who could win the fair blade of grass. Toppling over, the two boys landed in the grass, James on his back, and Sirius straddling his thighs. Sirius reached forward and made to grab the blade of grass, but was thrown off course when James raised his legs and squirmed underneath his friend. Sirius wasn't prepared for the movement and immediately fell forward onto James' chest. Taking the upper hand, James grabbed onto Sirius shoulders and flipped him over, not realizing that the grass had slipped out of his hands. The grass blade flew up into the air – badly beaten and now dripping with water from its escapades – and into the view of the sun. Looking up, James reached up and caught the blade of grass just as it had turned sideways into a small and almost invisible line infront of the sun.

James held up the grass and smiled. "AH HAH! I WIN!"

"Yeah but look at the sorry state of your blade of grass..." Sirius grunted as he tried to move out from underneath James – who was currently sitting on his chest. "Oomph... MOVE! I can't breath!"

"Yes... please, refrain from suffocating our Beater until we win the house cup, Potter." Richard Clark raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side slightly, a smile playing on his lips as he watched Sirius struggle to get up from under his friend's body.

"Wha? Oh... sorry!" James quickly moved and threw his leg over Sirius' body only to have Sirius lunge up and grab the piece of grass from James's fingers – ripping it down the middle in a jagged line.

"Bugger it... I thought that would have worked..." Sirius sighed as he stood up and looked at the pathetic torn piece of grass.

"You bloody well ripped it!" James nearly pouted as his eyebrows knotted together as he stood. "See if I'll ever try to help you ever again..."

"Help me?! You deliberately found it and took it away from me!"

"Well if you hadn't have grabbed for it so bloody quickly I would have given it to you!"

"My ass you would have given it to me! That thought never even penetrated your thick skull you lying prat!"

"HEY! I do _NOT_ have a thick skull!"

"No, your right... but you do have a thick mess of black hair that can be classified as a fucking _HELMET_!"

"BOYS!" Richard quickly jumped between the two near fighting Marauders and held them both at arms length from eachother. "Listen to me... jus-" Sirius' eyes twinkled suddenly, and James' face broke out into a smile. And, in the blink of an eye, Richard found that both his arms and legs had been grabbed, and the two men were swinging him back and forth.

"MAGGIE! WE'VE GOT HIM!" James yelled at the top of his lungs as he turned his head to look in a teammates direction.

"Excellent! COME ON EVERYONE!" A girl with cropped red hair came running towards the middle of the pitch, quickly followed by the rest of the team.

Richard let out another scream as he felt himself be swung to the left. "JESUS CHRIST! PLEASE DON'T DROP ME!"

"We would dare do a thing like that..." Sirius grinned down at the team captain. "Would we James?"

"Nuh-uh, never." James' own grin mated Sirius', and, noticing this, Richard let out another scream.

"LET ME DOAHHHHHH!!"

A rather large bucket of ice-cold water had just been poured over the team captain, leaving him very wet and very cold, despite the current day's temperature. Maggie grinned as Sirius and James let Richard down, and soon enough, the rest of the team had emerged from behind Maggie – two of them each holding a bucket of water.

"Whoa... no, no, what the hell are you doing?!" Sirius held up his hands and backed away slightly as he straightened his posture and stood.

"Oh..." James's eyes went wide as he stared at the Chaser, Caroline. "Come on – we aren't wearing shirts... and-"

"All the more reason to do it!" Caroline's grinned with mischievousness and she shouted at her teammates. "NOW!!!!!"

"SHITTT!!" Sirius turned on his heels and was about to run, but, his arm had been caught in Richard's grip – as had James' arm.

The water from the buckets had been just as cold as it was when it was dumped on the captain, and Sirius' shoulders immediately positioned themselves next to his ears as his hands balled up into fists at his sides. James stood facing the team, with his eyes closed and his glasses hanging on only by one ear. Sirius' mouth froze open as he shivered.

"Aahhh...." Sirius let out a shaking breath as he turned around, only to be met with another bucket of water to his face. Sirius began to hyperventilate slowly as he looked down. "I think my dick just shriveled up into nothing and fell off..." Sirius looked up at his team members, and shook his hands - marveling at the fact that he couldn't feel his fingertips.

James laughed as he pointed a finger towards Sirius, and was about to speak when a second round of water was thrown at him. Standing with an open mouth, clenched eyes, and a very violently shaking hand, James turned and looked towards Molly, who was now biting her lip as she smiled. "You're going to be dead once my body thaws out."

"Great! So, now that the most important players have been effectively frozen, why have we been called here?" Sirius shook his head and sprayed the team with water.

"We'll thaw, but whosever plan it was to do this will be receiving punishment. So, Sirius, James, Molly and Caroline – you'll be staying after practice to clean the equipment." Richard stripped off his own shirt and sighed as he threw it to the ground.

"WHAT?!" Molly dropped her bucket and it bounced over to Richard's feet, where he picked it up.

"Come on, I'm not captain for nothing – am I?" Sirius and James nodded slightly as Richard continued. "Any prank that's been pulled always has you four behind it... and it has for the past 4 years."

"...Shit." Caroline crossed her arms and pouted. "Fine. We'll stay behind. Now why have you called us here?"

"Oh..." Richard moved to pick up the other discarded buckets and piled them all together – one on top of the other. "There's been a change in positions." The team immediately erupted into objecting voices. "Listen! LISTEN!" Richard's voice rose above the team's combined voices, and they all quieted down. "It has merely to do with James and myself."

James instantly paled, despite his slightly blue skin tone. "...What?"

"You and I will be switching positions. I will become the Keeper – you, the Seeker."

"But... I can't... I don't know how to Richard..."

"I know. That's why we're going to practice... you and I." Richard grinned as he put a hand to James' shoulder. "You're plenty good, and you've got major talent."

"He's right, you did see that blade of grass against the sun Prongsie," Sirius lifted his eyebrows and ran a hand through his hair. James immediately shot him a look which would have openly been read as _'you-are-not-helping-me-Sirius!'_. Sirius merely shrugged and grinned at his best friend.

"But what about the game at the end of the month? We can't afford to loose it! We've only _JUST_ gotten back the points that Sirius and Remus lost us in February!" Brendan, the team's keeper, had just stood forward. "We can't afford to let the house cup go! Not when we're up against Hufflepuff!"

"And what's so horrible about Hufflepuff? Huh?" Another member of the team stood forward, growling at Brendan.

"Just because your sister is in Hufflepuff doesn't mean shit White." Brendan rounded on the tall man who had moved to stand beside him.

"HEY!" Richard stepped between the two team members. "We're not going to start acting like Slytherin's now, I won't allow it. So step back and calm your bloody jets!"

Both Brendan and Nathaniel White stood back from eachother, mutually crossing their arms and frowning.

"Listen, I know we're all sensitive about the up-coming exams and everything, but it doesn't mean that we have to get at each other's throats about it – alright? Last time I heard, that's not how a team interacts with eachother." Sirius moved to stand infront of the two angered Gryffindor's. "Now shake and make up."

Nathaniel and Brendan eyed eachother apprehensively before taking a hold of each other's hands and muttering their apologies.

"He's right though, we only have a month left to train James..." Molly crossed her arms. "I know he's a great player, but..."

"I know you're all really uptight about this last minute decision – but it's what's best for the team. I sure as hell know that I just can't do it anymore; I'm starting to loose track of the snitch... I hardly caught it in the last game we won against Slytherin." Richard racked his hand through his hair and sighed. "It's a huge leap of faith, but I know James can do it."

"You... you really think I can?" James had now crossed his own arms as he looked at the captain, glasses hanging from one hand.

"Of course. I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise." Richard smiled as he looked at James and placed a hand to his shoulder. "You'll do fine. We'll practice as much as we can-"

"What about team practices?" Caroline spoke up, voicing the concern of the rest of the team.

Richard let his hand fall from James' shoulder. "We'll still have them on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. But I'll have to schedule them later... because both James and I will need the time to train for our new positions." Richard looked up at the sky quickly before looking back to his team. "Yeah, we've all been trained to play every position that's available to be played, granted, but we need to be the best we can be this year – all of us. We can't loose in our very last year."

"And the weekends?" Sirius crossed his arms against his chest and shivered slightly.

"You can use the weekends to perfect your own positions... ask fellow team members to come with you to practice if you must – and... everyone... please, if you're asked... do it." The team nodded in unison, murmuring their consent.

"So what're we doing tonight Richard?" Sirius stifled a sneeze as he spoke.

"We were going to get in a few hours of practice..." Looking up to the sky, Richard sighed. "But, I've decided that we can take the night off tonight, considering almost every night from here on will be either spent practicing or going over game tactics. Is that alright with all of you?"

Everyone nodded and headed off in the direction of the school, except for Molly, James, Caroline, and Sirius.

Richard bent down to pick up his shirt, and, as he rung it out he addressed the players that had been left behind. "Well... since two of you have been drenched and it already looks as if Sirius is going to get a cold – I'll let you off tonight... but be warned that the next day we practice, you will be cleaning the equipment... and thoroughly."

The two girls nodded and walked off, leaving Richard alone with two Marauders.

With a twinkle in his eye, Richard spoke to the remaining Gryffindor's. "So have you got any idea as to why they soaked me?"

Sirius grinned as he walked back from picking up his shirt. "Sure we do, don't we Prongsie?"

James smiled as he walked away to pick up his own shirt. "We sure do."

"Then... why did they?" Richard fixed his gaze on Sirius.

Pulling his shirt on, Sirius smiled. "We heard about your engagement."

Richard scoffed and laughed. "So that justifies you dumping cold water all over me?"

"No, not really... but it was fun – wasn't it?" James grinned as he pulled his own shirt over his head.

"Yeah, and it got us out of practice." Sirius once more crossed his arms over his chest as the three of them walked side by side. "So who is she?"

"Well if you've heard of my engagement, why don't you know her name?" Richard laughed as they began to walk towards the school.

"Couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the details..." James smirked as he kicked at a grasshopper that neither of the other boys had seen.

Looking down towards the castle, Richard smiled. "That makes far to much sense to be reckoned with... but, in any case, her name is Shelley Webster."

"Isn't she that byrd in Ravenclaw with the long brown hair?" James furrowed his eyebrows. "The one you've been dating for years?"

"Yeah..." Richard smiled to himself. "She's pretty, huh?"

Sirius grinned. "Yeah... she is. Great job catching her, mate." Sirius elbowed the captain. "I'm going to head to the locker room... coming?"

"Nah... I'm going to go get something to eat." James stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, me too... I guess we'll see you later then." Richard smiled as he and James swerved to the left and towards the school.

"Yeah alright... see ya!" Sirius waved at his friends and smiled before focusing his attention infront of him.

Looking towards the locker rooms, Sirius noticed a familiar figure sitting cross-legged, reading a book beside the doors.

Glancing up at the incoming noise, Remus' face broke out into a smile once he had found the identity of the person coming towards him. "Hey."

Sirius stopped infront of him and held out a hand. "Hey... Why're you here so early?"

Remus closed the book he was reading, leaving his finger between the pages to mark his place, and took the offered hand, standing up. Shrugging, Remus brushed off the back of his pants. "I just didn't feel like sitting in the school to wait for you."

"So you came and sat here ever since school ended?"

Remus grinned and lent forward. "Yeah... you don't mind do you?"

"Not at all..." Sirius was lost to the world as soon as he felt Remus' hand snake up around his neck and pull him in for a greeting kiss. "Mmm..."

"What?" Remus kissed Sirius once more and lent back, leaving his hand in Sirius' hair.

"Today is a good day." Sirius opened his eyes and smiled.

"Why?"

"Because I got off of Quidditch equipment cleaning."

"What did you do to deserve that?"

Sirius took the hand that was curled in his hair, and turned to walk into the locker room. "We dumped a bucket of ice-water on the captain."

"What?" Remus laughed. "What for?"

"Well, we found out about his engagement."

"...So you dumped water on him... how lovely..." Remus grinned as Sirius nodded proudly. Once the two were inside the locker room, Remus sat down on the bench and looked down at his book. "So why are you all wet then...?" Marking the page he was reading with his bookmark, Remus met Sirius' eyes as he looked up.

Sirius shrugged his shoulders as he pulled off his shirt. "Caroline and Molly thought it would be funny if they soaked us too..." Throwing his shirt into his locker, Sirius reached down and began to fiddle with the belt on his pants.

"Us?" Remus' lips were formed into a smile as he watched Sirius' muscles glide effortlessly under his tanned skin.

"Well, us as in me and James." Sirius looked up from under his bangs and smiled. "Only we got two buckets of ice water each..."

"Ohh no..." Remus made a face at the thought and watched as Sirius stepped out of his pants.

"Yeah..." Sirius lent down and kissed Remus cheek. "Do you mind if I have a shower? I'm really bloody cold..."

Noticing the shiver that had just run through Sirius body, Remus shook his head. "Not at all... do you want me to come back?"

"Nah... but do you wanna wait around and talk to me while I shower?"

Smiling, Remus stood up, lent towards the clean hamper of towels, and picked one up. "Sure."

Sirius turned around and pulled his boxers off, also throwing those back into his locker. He turned around once more and walked towards his boyfriend, taking the towel. Sirius bent down and kissed Remus neck. "Thanks."

Remus nearly dissolved into a tittering schoolgirl at the kiss, but managed to offer a small, and decidedly much more manly smile instead. "Welcome."

Remus couldn't help but let his eyes travel to Sirius' butt as he walked towards the nearest shower stall. Grinning in spite of himself, Remus let his hip rest against the wall closest to the stall Sirius was in and watched as Sirius turned on the tap.

"You've got tan lines."

"What?" Sirius turned around just as a jet of warm water hit his chest.

"You've got tan lines." Remus raised the volume of his voice as he pointed at Sirius bottom half. "Your legs are really white."

Sirius looked down and colored slightly. "Yeah, well I'm not about to run around in a Speedo, or, for that matter, nothing at all so that I can have a nice full body tan for you." Sirius smiled as he let the warm water flow over his back.

"I don't mind them, I've just never really noticed your tan lines before." Remus grinned as he crossed his arms, pulling his book close to his chest.

"You've never been close enough to see them before..." Sirius turned and pumped some of the shampoo, which had been sitting on a small shelf next to the shower, into his hand.

"...True." Remus watched as Sirius lathered up his hair. The two were quiet for a moment while Sirius rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. Remus' eyes followed the trail of bubbles down Sirius body and onto the floor, only looking back up at his boyfriend when the bubbles had disappeared down the drain. "Have you thought anymore of what we talked about on the night of the dance?"

"Err..." Sirius began to run his fingers through his hair, coating the many black strands with conditioner. "What part of that night are you referring to?"

"Before the dance, when we were outside..." Remus didn't flush as he had originally thought he would have when he mentioned it. "I mean, we've had sex since then – but I've never had the chance to do what you asked me to do."

Sirius smirked as he lent backwards to let the water rinse the conditioner from his hair. True to his words, he and Remus had made love – with Sirius on the bottom – a few times since that day, and they had yet to use any type of restraints while it was happening. "Is this your way of asking me if I still want to do it?"

"...I suppose so. I mean, if you don't want to do it... that's still okay..." Remus trailed off and cleared his throat.

Sirius suddenly started to laugh. "Ooohh, Remus, Remus, Remus..."

Remus snapped his head up and looked at Sirius, still slightly embarrassed. "What?"

"It seems as if I've just found your kink." Sirius grinned as Remus' cheeks flushed. "You really want to tie me up that much?"

Immediately coming to his own defense, Remus shot out an answer. "You're the one who asked me to do it in the first place!"

"You're the one who keeps asking me if I want to."

"So? It's a logical question you know...." Remus shifted his position so that his back was resting against the tile wall. "When your partner asks you to tie them up, you can't just... let that question slide..."

"You're digging a hole Remus." Sirius rinsed off the soap, which had accumulated on his body as he washed himself.

"So what if I want to dig a hole...? Maybe I like dirt..."

"You hate being dirty, Remus."

Remus turned to look at Sirius and found that his cheeks were rather hot. "Okay! Fine! It turns me on to think of you tied up. Happy?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why does it turn you on?"

Remus paused for a moment and thought of his answer. "Be... Because it leaves you with no control... and... er..." Remus' cheeks burned themselves into an even deeper shade of crimson. "And... and I like having that control over you, because I don't have control over you in any other situation."

Sirius grinned and reached to turn the tap off. "You have control over me plenty of times during the day, Rem."

"Yeah? Name one." Remus raised his eyebrows as he looked into Sirius eyes, thinking this was a challenge.

"Alright... How about when you kissed me not 10 minutes ago, whenever you touch me, when you smile at me, when y-"

"I said one..." Remus let his gaze drop to the floor as Sirius shook out his hair and toweled it slightly dry. "But... I really do... erm..."

"Control me?"

"Yeah... that often?"

Sirius smiled and wrapped the white towel around his waist. "Mhm." He lent forward and kissed Remus' hot cheeks. "Definitely."

"I..." Remus turned and followed Sirius towards his locker. "Wow..."

"What do you find so amazing that you have to respond to it with a 'wow'?"

"It's... just... I didn't think that I ever had any amount of control over you..."

"Why?"

"Because you're Sirius Black."

Sirius shook his head and reached into his locker to obtain a new pair of boxers. "That's bullshit and you know it, Remus. You do the things you do to me because you know you have control when you do it. So why do you really want to tie me up?"

Remus lent back against the lockers across from his boyfriend who was currently toweling himself dry. "Because it shows that you trust me."

"So the fact that I trust you gets you off?"

"Well... um..." Remus cleared his throat and looked up at Sirius from under his eyelashes, still blushing. "Yeah. Sometimes it does."

Sirius smiled and threw his towel into the dirty hamper and pulled on his boxers. "When was the last time you flew a broom?"

"What? Oh... first year."

"That long ago?"

"Yeah... I don't like flying, it's rather unnerving."

"It's completely safe," Sirius pulled on a thick black sweatshirt with shiny black material over both shoulder blades, complete with a matching pocket on the left breast made out of the same material. "There's charms to keep you safe, it's all about balance really."

"Yeah, but it still frightens me. I never liked it." Remus ran a hand through his hair and let his head rest back against the metal of the lockers.

"Have you wanted to do it since even though it scares you?"

"Yeah, maybe once or twice." Remus watched as Sirius pulled on a pair of dark, faded blue jeans. "Why?"

"Do you want to do it now?"

"Why...?"

"Because I feel like flying..." Sirius pulled the button of his pants through the hole, securing his pants shut as he reached for the zipper. "Please?"

Remus sighed, and for a moment Sirius thought he would object. "Sure... I don't see why not."

Sirius grinned widely and walked around the bench, coming to a stop infront of his mate. "You mean it?"

Remus couldn't help but grin at the happiness that was radiating from Sirius. "Yeah."

Sirius bit his lip quickly before placing both of his hands on either side of Remus' shoulders and leaning in for a kiss. Remus met Sirius lips as he tilted his head forward.

"Thank-you, Remus."

"Mmm... for what?" Remus kissed Sirius again; letting the grip on the book he was holding slip for a second.

"For agreeing to let me fly with you."

"With me...? We're sharing a broom?"

Sirius kissed Remus again, speaking softly against Remus' lips. "You don't have a broom do you?"

"...No." Remus caught Sirius lips in another kiss, finally letting the book in his arms fall to the ground, in-between both his and Sirius' feet as he reached up and curled his arms around Sirius' neck, deepening the kiss.

Opening his mouth, Sirius allowed Remus to control the rate, and intensity of the kiss. Feeling the warmth of Remus' tongue against his own, Sirius couldn't help but dissolve into a smile.

"What?" Remus' eyes were slightly dazed as he opened them, having to back up slightly so that Sirius' face would come into focus.

"A huge shiver just went up my spine..."

"I know, I felt it."

Sirius looked down in-between their feet and smiled. "You're reading Cinderella?"

"It's for Muggle Studies..." Remus answered quickly, leaning back against the locker.

"Is it good?"

"...Yes. Violent, but good."

Sirius looked up and smiled; letting one hand move from the locker to the side of Remus' ever-smooth face. It amazed Sirius that his boyfriend's jaw never seemed to reach the state of stubble – meaning that Remus was definitely took pride in his appearance. Sirius took in a breath, blinking slowly as he looked down at his mate, and, brushing his thumb over Remus' cheek, Sirius' looked into Remus' eyes and whispered when he spoke. "I love you, Remus..."

Remus felt his heart clench slightly as he closed his eyes and smiled. Opening his eyes again, Remus locked amber with azure. "I love you too, Sirius."

Sirius melted into a smile and lent forward, kissing Remus gently, removing his hand from Remus' cheek to slide down his side and pull him close. Remus broke the kiss and took Sirius into a hug. Sirius gladly wrapped his other arm around Remus' body and smiled into Remus' hair.

"You smell like candy."

Remus let out a small laugh. "Candy?"

"Yeah..." Sirius lent back and looked into Remus' eyes. "Which leads me to believe that you're made out of sw... why are your eyes tearing?"

"I'm just happy... just... really happy." Remus forced a smile.

Sirius searched Remus eyes before leaning forward; kissing away a tear that had escaped from Remus' freshly closed eyes.

"God this is so stupid... why do I always cry?" Remus hastily let his arms fall from Sirius' shoulders as he wiped his eyes. "I hate crying so much,"

Sirius lift his hands and took a hold of Remus' hands, stilling their movements. He let their hands drop to the center of his chest, smiling as Remus closed his eyes, and rest his forehead against Sirius'.

Remus sighed. "Truthfully... I'm really worried about-"

"I know."

"For the first time in my life... I don't want school to end; I don't want to go home... because it's not my home... my home is with you... my home will always be with you, Sirius." Remus looked up into Sirius eyes, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked back and forth between twin azure orbs.

"Shh..." Sirius let go of his mate's hands and wound his arms around Remus' body, holding him close. "I feel the same way."

Letting Sirius slowly rock back and forth, Remus sigh was shaky as he took in a deep breath.

Sirius voice was soft, and close to Remus' ear. "I still love you just the same, Remus... even if you cry more than you think you should."

Remus grinned against his love's chest, and hastily lent back to kiss Sirius' lips before kneeling down to pick up his fallen book, letting his hand trail down Sirius' torso as he did so. Standing straight again, Remus looked towards the Quidditch pitch. "We should go now before I change my mind."

"Go where?"

Remus wiped his eyes. "To fly, Sirius... Remember?"

"Right! Sorry... I forgot..." Sirius smiled and placed a kiss to Remus' forehead before turning to step over the bench, soon digging into his locker to find a pair of socks. "Are my shoes still wet?"

Remus moved and stepped over the bench himself, reaching towards Sirius' shoes as he sniffed. "They're a little damp, but it's nothing I can't dry."

Sirius smiled as he sat down and separated his socks. "Thanks."

"Mhm." Remus took out his wand and cast a charm over Sirius' shoes – causing them to warm slightly and then fully dry. Putting his wand back, Remus bent over and picked up the shoes. "Here,"

Sirius reached forward and took the shoes from Remus' hands. "Thanks..."

Remus smiled in response and stood. Leaning on one of the lockers, Remus watched briefly as Sirius tied his shoes. Closing his eyes, Remus took a deep breath to clear his mind before he spoke in a soft, almost guarded tone when Sirius came to stand infront of him.

"I asked my parents if you would be able to come with us to France for a few days sporadically during the summer..."

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"They know that we're together, and... I don't think that I'll be able to last very long if you aren't there... so... I had to ask them."

"What did they say?"

"I havn't gotten the owl back... but, they always take a while to respond... so..."

Sirius raised his hand and placed it to Remus' cheek, changing the subject. "Let's go, alright?" Remus nodded and smiled weakly as Sirius took the book out of Remus' hand. "Is it alright if I put this in my locker for now? With your wand?"

"Oh... won't we need them?"

"No," Sirius smiled and held out his hand. "just mine so I can summon my broom."

Remus reached around and took his wand out of his pocket, handing it to Sirius. "Is my jacket to heavy to keep on?"

"Umm, yeah, it might be... I've got a sweater if you want to borrow it?"

Remus smiled and shouldered his jacket off, pausing briefly before putting it into Sirius's outstretched hand. "Yeah... sure."

Sirius hung the jacket up in the locker beside his Quidditch robe, and got up onto his tiptoes to reach for a clean sweater. "Here... it may be a bit big for you though..."

Remus' grin widened as he looked at the sweater. "I gave you that for Christmas in 6th year... I thought that you didn't like it...?"

Sirius looked down at the dark grey sweater for a moment and picked at the loose threads. "I do like it, I love it, I just never wore it around you because I didn't want you to know I actually wore it." Sirius laughed nervously. "...Oddly enough."

"Why's that?" Remus took the sweater, smiling as he pulled it over his head.

"Because that was back when I liked you and I didn't have the guts to tell you, so I always left it here... I used to wear this sweater all the time when you weren't around. And when I went to bed."

"Even in the summer?"

"Well... I'd put it under my pillow in the summer..." Sirius blushed slightly. "Yeah, I know it's pathetic... me treating a sweater like a bloody security blanket-"

"It's no more pathetic then my deep love of my fish, and you don't find that pathetic... do you?" Remus tilted his head to the side and let one eye close more than the other as he waited the short-lived time between his last word, and the answer from Sirius.

"No."

"Then, in that case, likewise with the sweater." Remus grinned, took Sirius' hand, and began to walk towards the exit of the locker room. "So are you going to wear it more often now that you've told me you liked me?"

"Well it's got holes everywhere... and... it's all tattered..."

"You still wear it in secret?"

Sirius shoved his other hand into his pocket and looked towards the ground as they walked out onto the dark green grass. The sky had turned from blue to a mix of colors - purple, pink, and orange – as the sun had nearly set. "I still wear it all the time."

"And you sleep with it under your pillow?"

"Even when you're in my bed with me..." Sirius blushed slightly as he looked down sideways at Remus.

Remus's laugh filled the warm night air as the two came to a stop in the middle of the Quidditch field. Remus turned to face Sirius. "That's really sweet."

"What?"

"The fact that you love the sweater so much."

"Only because you gave it to me-"

"Thinking that you'd hate it." Remus' face melted into a gentle smile as he looked up into Sirius' eyes.

Sirius smiled himself as he looked down and took out his wand, muttering 'Accio broomstick' under his breath. Looking up at Remus once more, Sirius let go of Remus' hands and turned towards his incoming broom. He placed his wand back into the pocket of his pants before holding his hands out and grabbing the broom as it floated quietly infront of him. Sirius turned mounted his broom, motioning for Remus to come stand beside him. Remus obliged, and stood beside his lover.

"Straddle it facing me, and put your thighs over mine, alright?"

"Won't the broom fall? Well... won't we fall?"

Sirius' eyes moved from the broom to Remus. "Not if you trust me."

Remus nodded and took a deep breath, lifting his leg so that he was straddling the obviously expensive broom. Sitting down on the broom, Remus reached out and grasped a hand to Sirius' shoulder as he felt the familiar cushioning charm underneath him. Remus smiled quickly before scooting forward and, first placing one leg over Sirius, then the other, he wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist. An arm came around Remus' waist to hold him safely, and Remus soon felt the muscles in Sirius' legs flex slightly as he kicked off the ground. Remus' breath caught in his throat as he closed his eyes and felt the wind begin to pick up pace around their bodies. Sirius smiled and maneuvered the broom easily through the air, rising above the spectator's stands and high into the increasingly darkening sky.

Remus felt Sirius' breath wash against his ear. "Open your eyes,"

Remus opened his eyes and turned his head to the side and down, watching as the Quidditch pitch slowly became something that seemed the perfect size to fit into an oval snow globe. Remus had never noticed how the rolling hills around the Castle seemed to flow together in an effortless song, twining together to form a spectacular landscape worthy of an artists' brush strokes. Remus smiled as he felt the cool night air rush past his cheeks, whipping his honey-brown hair around his face.

Remus took a deep breath, letting out an airy word. "...Wow..."

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Remus looked up at Sirius' smiling face. He watched as Sirius closed his eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying every second of feeling completely... free. "Very beautiful..."

Sirius' turned his now dark azure eyes to Remus, as the corners of his lips hitched up. "Are you glad you came up here with me?"

"More than glad... Thank-you for inviting me." Remus held Sirius closer to his body and let his head drop to Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius looked back towards the clouds and willed the broom to come to a balanced stop. "I'm glad you're happy."

Remus lift his head and felt Sirius' hands come to a rest on his neck, thumbs brushing against his jaw line. Remus was about to ask if they were going to fall, but closed his mouth when Sirius lent forward and kissed him. Remus' arms unwound from Sirius' torso and moved to rest on Sirius' upper arms, squeezing slightly as he held onto his mate. Sirius' grip around Remus' neck loosened somewhat, but the kisses did not stop. Instead, Sirius gently nudged his tongue into Remus' mouth and deepened the kiss slightly. Remus tilted his head farther to the side and stroked his tongue against Sirius, feeling Sirius' thumb move slowly across his jaw, sending a shiver to spark from the spot Sirius had touched, down his neck and through his spine.

No matter the amount of times the two had kissed, made love, or merely lay in each other's arms, the simplest move of Sirius' fingers on Remus' skin had always produced the same effect at the most intimate of times. Remus felt his heart swell slightly as he continued to kiss his love, and silently – he thanked God that he'd found him. Knowing that against all odds, they had found eachother, and that Sirius had been made for him, and he, for Sirius. They fit together so well it seemed. Found in the way their bodies melded together like the matching pieces of a puzzle, slick with sweat after they had made love... the way their hands always knew the right places to touch, the way their lips had moved against the others – constantly seeking, and finding the rhythm in which they had so earlier set.

From the first time they had met each other, something in the other had drawn them together. A trait, or feeling that one of them had, was found in the other. The trust Remus needed to be himself was found in Sirius, the love that Remus needed to feel free – was found in Sirius' arms. The strength that Sirius craved, that Sirius wished for... was found in Remus' gentle amber eyes time and time again.

Songs had been created which had depicted the course and strength of love, claiming that love possessed the power to move mountains, to fill the empty sea with water and life. Though it seemed that these songs had merely claimed to do those things... claimed – but never proven. Though... in authenticity, love has no power unless you give it power, love has no strength unless you trust in it. Love exists only for those who crave it, for those who need to feel the warmth of its wings as it envelops them in a feathery shield against the harsh realities of the world. And when it is finally uncovered – it's never really let go of. It can always be found in the most faded memory, a torn picture, the brush of a gentle hand... in a long forgotten kiss.

Sirius broke the kiss and felt a tear roll down his cheek, hot in contrast of the cool winds. Sirius voice broke as he whispered against his mate's lips. "I need you, Remus..... and I never really realized how much I needed you until now..."

Remus closed his eyes and opened his mouth to take in a slow breath. "Take us back... take us down."

Remus felt the air around him shift as the broom began to descend, and the two of them had flown from high above the stands towards the astrology tower. As the minutes passed, the two found themselves coming to a final rest infront of the large wooden door. Remus stepped off the broom, and waited until Sirius had both his feet on the ground before the reached forward and kissed him.

"Let met touch you, Sirius... let me love you..."

Sirius nodded slowly, and opened the door.

Remus smiled and kissed Sirius neck as he reached for the hem of Sirius sweater. Pulling the sweater over Sirius head, Remus threw it to the side and pulled Sirius' naked body against his own. Sirius walked backwards as he and Remus kissed, and fell back onto the bed, Remus on top of him – never letting the kisses end. Sirius gasped for breath slightly when Remus ended their kisses, and took the signal to move up on the bed, so, crawling backwards, Sirius soon found his thigh being straddled by his boyfriend, light kisses being dusted all over his chest and neck.

Remus let his hips slide against Sirius', smiling when an airy moan escaped from Sirius's lips as their erections brushed. Remus let his hands travel down Sirius' arms, and he lightly fastened his hands around Sirius' wrists and brought them up above his head, kissing Sirius' lips. Sliding his hips once more, Remus felt the air from Sirius's gasp, before he turned his head to the side.

"...Please, Remus..." Sirius let out a shuttering breath.

Remus held both of Sirius' hands above his head with one hand, as the other trailed down Sirius' torso to take a hold of his lover's erection. Remus moved his hand up and down slightly before rubbing his thumb over the slit. Sirius responded instantly, lifting his leg to rest it against Remus' thigh as he moaned quietly. Remus found himself getting hard as he watched Sirius' expression change as he slowly pumped his hand up and down the length of Sirius' arousal.

"Please... I need you inside me... I don't care if it'll hurt... just... please, Remus..." It wasn't often that Sirius begged to have Remus inside of him, let alone begged for anything, and Remus merely smiled at the request and dipped lower to kiss Sirius' collarbone.

Lifting his head, Remus ran his tongue along the shell of Sirius' ear briefly before whispering: "As you wish..."

Sirius cried out when Remus pushed inside of him, letting his head fall to the side and against the soft pillow when Remus bent down to kiss his neck, whispering soft words of comfort into his ear. Sirius bit his lip as Remus began to move, slow at first, painfully slow, and ever so gentle. Sirius allowed his arms to be held above his head as he spread his legs and lifted his hips to meet with one of Remus' thrusts. Moaning against his arm, Sirius finally turned his head to look into Remus' eyes, and held them for a moment before arching his back and gasping as Remus thrust into his body hitting a tender sweet area thrice in a row. Remus felt Sirius' body quake as he kissed him – gasping himself as his lips trembled and froze on Sirius' neck. Remus' breathing began to come faster, his thrusts – quicker.

Sirius met each movement of Remus' with a thrust of his own, meeting Remus lips with his as they felt their bodies begin to slick with exertion as they moved together, in time with eachother. Sirius shifted slightly and wrapped his legs around Remus' body, feeling the grip around his wrists tighten and release as they adjusted to the new position. Remus gasped and bit down into the soft flesh of Sirius' shoulder as he felt the early beginnings of his climax begin to cease his body. Sirius' erection stood near flat against his stomach, aching to be touched. Sensing the demand, Remus reached down and steadied himself before taking Sirius into his hand, stroking up and down in time with his thrusts.

Sirius arched his back off of the bed at the first touch, and moaned into Remus' mouth, forcing them to break the kiss as Sirius' head fell to the side, seeming to be frozen open. Remus' breath fell hot on Sirius' chest as he thrust, coming in quick pants. Letting out a low moan, Remus felt Sirius clench around his penis and he all but lost control as he shook with pleasure, nearly falling on top of his lover with the sheer strength of it. Taking a deep breath, Remus' pace began to quicken, not once letting his hand stop moving.

Remus' breath caught in his throat when he came, slowly turning into low, constantly hitching huffs of air which fell from of his mouth and onto Sirius' body. Forcing himself to let of Sirius' wrists and steady himself, Remus rode out the wave of his orgasm and continued to move his hand up and down Sirius' straining erection as he still pushed in and out of Sirius' body.

Sirius let his hands move from above his head to move under Remus' body and around his torso until they came to a rest on Remus' shoulder blades. Feeling his own orgasm grip him, Sirius brought Remus into a kiss just as he released himself into Remus' hand. Remus' body finally stilled, and a shutter ran through it as he lost his strength and lowered his body onto Sirius', resting their chests against one another. Snaking his hand out from between their slicked bodies, Remus tried unsuccessfully to push himself up again, only to feel his arm begin to shake violently before he let it come to a rest beside Sirius' body.

Sirius rest his cheek against Remus' damp hair and only managed to whisper out a few words before his breath left him once more. "...Je t'aime."

Remus shuttered against his lover and smiled. "Je t'aime..."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

WHOOO!!!!!!! Excellent, excellent! Sex is nice! Let me know what you thought of that particular scene, that, and the flying scene... with the whole love thing going on up there in the sky (At this point, I honestly pondered adding "Where are we going?"..."To the stars...". You know, that bit from Titanic? -rolls her eyes as she laughs-) I really do apologize for taking so long to update, but, I hope that I've provided you all with a nice chapter to wake up to. -smiles-

On to the ever growing list of people whom I need to address I suppose...:

Crowley Black: You realize, of course, that your reveiw rhymed, right? -laughs- Just thougth I should point that out: _"this chapter was brilliant!! It made me laugh and cry! I loved the last bit when they were high!"_ AUGH!!! I just thought I should point it out, because I thought it was really adorable. -grins sheepishly-

Roxanne Barnett: Well, it wasn't kinky - not persay - but it was steamy... right? -looks off to the side- How're you doing though? Better I hope? -smothers you in kisses-

Written in the stars: Hmm... well, I know there may be now a bit less than fifty, but that depends on how long my chapters insist on being - yannoo? It'll probably be done sometime in December, or possibly early EARLY January. And, from there, I have NO idea where I'll go, or what I'll do... Damn but I'll be lost without WOTM... O.o;;

GurVicious: Excellent! WHOO! Thank-you SO much!!! -gives you a platter of cookies- WHOO!

daringtobeme: Awwwww.... thank-you so much!! I'm glad you actually laugh at what I write, or, you know... it'd really, really suck. Like - hardcore style, yanno? It's almost daunting when I try to write something funny... it seems I'm only able to write sex and angst. -laughs- WHOOO!!! What an attribute... -looks off to the side-

Maia-Eala: OMG!! I've been wracking my BRAIN trying to find where the refrences to Beauty and the Beast were - and I absolutely cannot find it!!! But yes, there was refrence to Chocolat, and, there's refrence to The Crow in this chapter. But - tell me, where is the Beauty and the Beast bit?! -dies of exertion-

jellycatty: YAY! Thank-you for loving my storyy!!!! -gives you cookies-

Kynny: You know, when the old bat kicks the bucket - they're still going to have to sell her shit, right? And you know, stay around until everything has been sold. Wouldn't want anyone to steal some old lady's crap, would you? Besides, this will give the Lupin family enough money to move back... that, and, well, they would inherit her fortune when she dies - right? MUAHAHA!!!!!!

Lizzi: AHH! Your reveiw made me laugh!!! I love laughing when I get reveiws, even if it does involve someone esphixiating in the middle of the kitchen because of death... scuse me - _laughter._ -winks- And, about the relationship thing... well... erm... wow - thank-you! I didn't really know how their relationship would form... but, I guess that it's formed into a really good one? I write how I'd like my relationships to be, you know, if I had one... -pouts- But thank-you so much for your ever so charming reveiw, darling!

And, last, but certainly not least, Jan: MAN! I cannot TELL you how happy I am that I converted you into a regluar slash reader! WHOO!! I love how excited you get when you find a new chapter as you come into work in the mornings! It's so utterly fabulous that one of my readers is so compeltely wanting to read the next chapter! I love you for being excited...! -gives you kisses- Have you ever been caught at work when you're reading my story...? -giggles- WEEE!

WHOOO!!! That was tons of people, huh? But, there's been a question knawing at my mind for a bit, and - here it is: Are any of my readers male? If so, Please tell me whom you are and let me know if I'm doing an alright job...? I would really appreciate it if you would let me know... yadda, yadda, yadda. -smiles-

So, Sirius wasn't really tied up, but, his hands were... 'bound' by Remus' hands, so I suppose that counts as some sort of tying up kink? Who knows, maybe I will write another scene where Sirius is actually tied up. Maybe Remus will get _HELLA_ kinky on his ass! (I'm not sure if the pun should be intended or not... decide with your own decretion...) WHIPS! HANDCUFFS! OHYES! Oh GOD... Bondage!Remus would scare the shit out of me... so... we're not even going to _venture_ into bondage!Remus... ever... -laughs nervously-

I think that's about it for now, and I'm sure that not even half of you have made it this far yet, as I usually shit out when people write long author's notes... -sighs- ANYWAY! Let me know what you thought of it by reveiwing, and... yes. Thank-you in advance, as always!

_**SPOILER:**_ The leather pants will be making their appearence VERY soon-like. -winks- ehee!

Question #2: Should I make up names for my chapers? If so, help me out by offering suggestions...?


	30. Chapter 30

_'Dear Remus,_

_Your father has informed me of the identity of your mate. Though I can say that I was rather surprised at the time, I've thought about it and I've decided that I don't mind that it is a man instead of a woman. Somehow I've always figured that you weren't meant to be with a woman. Don't take this as an insult – because it isn't. Not in the slightest. I'm just so very happy that you've finally found someone to love you and accept what you are._

_Things around the house have been slow; I've been doing a lot of spring-cleaning. You'd be amazed at the amounts of dust you find underneath and around things after winter. Do you remember when you used to follow me around all day when you were a boy, with a little rag over your hair and a duster in your hand? Oh you used to love to dust, Remus. It was your most favorite thing to do. There were times when I would simply sit on a couch or on a chair, and watch you skip around the house – humming a song and dusting absolutely everything that looked as if it needed dusting. Oh you were such a precious little boy. But – that's getting off topic and threatening to help the tears fall from my eyes. Memories are so very amazing, Remus. The power that they hold is most unfathomable._

_Your father has told me that you've got the highest marks in this school year along with... who was it? Oh yes, Sirius Black. He's your mate, right? Well anyway, I'm so very sorry that I wasn't able to make it to the meeting, but I was held up around the house with a rather nasty dwarf infestation. I've taken care of it now – but it would have been lovely if I'd have had your help. No matter, though! It's all done. And I am so, so proud of you, Remus – know that._

_Now, I suppose you've scanned this letter through and through to find the answer to the question you posed to your father and I, right? You would have... the first thing you would have done is scan the letter. Your father and I have spoken at great length about this idea of yours... and we've decided that it would be better if he were not to come with us to see your Grandmamma. I am sorry, Remus my love – but she is in no state to be accepting company outside of blood relations. Maybe he can come and see us later in the year – for Thanksgiving or Christmas? While I realize that you are more than likely to go into a tirade about this – I would ask you not too. I suspect that deep down in your heart you knew the answer to be no. I am very sorry for having the answer end at no, but please do accept the reasoning for it, darling. We shall see you next when July comes to an end._

_All my love,  
__Mama'_

Remus sighed upon finishing the letter. He had received it that night, and was now sitting in the comfortable and fairy-overstuffed chair beside the fire in the Gryffindor common room. The family owl that had delivered the letter was sitting on the armrest; his eyes closed as he rest. Remus looked towards the owl and reached out, running the back of his finger along the chest of the great bird. The owl, which was named Louie, opened his large yellow eyes and cooed softly at the touch. Remus managed a small smile as he spoke to the bird.

"I havn't got a return letter, nor do I have any owl treats..." Louie shook his head, and hooted to make his discomfort known. Remus smile widened faintly. "But I am sure that if you go to the Owlery – there will be food there, and you can rest for the night before heading back to Mama and Papa if you choose too."

Louie sat and looked at Remus for a moment before leaning into the stroke on the top of his head and lightly nipping Remus' finger before spreading his wings and taking off through the open window at the top of Gryffindor tower. Remus looked up and watched as Louie's large form disappeared into the clouds as he head towards the Owlery. Remus sighed once more as he looked towards the letter.

"What's wrong, Remus?"

Remus looked up to be greeted with a girl with long red hair. "Oh... I just got a letter back from my Mama about... you know – asking if Sirius would be able to come stay with us for a while." Remus gently thrust the letter up at her and shifted over in the chair so she would be able to sit down beside him. "Here, read it if you'd like."

Lily took the letter and smiled as she took a seat beside Remus, blushing slightly when Remus rest his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes. Lily held the letter up and began to read it, her green eyes darting back and forth. Now and then she would smile at things his mother would say, before she came across some interesting content and felt the need to voice it. "You used to dust with a rag tied around your head?"

Remus nodded against her shoulder. "Sometimes. Dusting is rather fun... but, only if you get to wear your mother's frilly apron while doing it."

Lily broke out into a warm laugh. "You used to wear a frilly apron?"

"What can I say? I'm gay."

Lily giggles died down slightly. "Oh, well now your being stereotypical."

Remus shrugged. "As long as no one else finds out about the frilly apron, I'll be as stereotypical as I want to be."

Lily nodded and returned her eyes to the parchment letter infront of her. She finished the letter and folded it up again, holding it sideways for Remus to take it. Remus had by this time opened his eyes, and, as he took the letter - he laid it in his lap, covering it with his hands.

"Are you upset?"

"No... I knew they'd say no. I just needed to ask to be sure."

"Oh... I see. Well – I'm sure that it won't be that bad... like your mother said, he can come around during Thanksgiving or Christmas."

Remus frowned and lifted his head nodding. He then look down and began to pick at the edges of the letter. "I know. I but I wanted him to be there with me for the first few days... I want him to meet my parents – both my parents - when it doesn't involve being in Dumbledore's office."

Lily looked down at the letter in Remus' lap. She took one of his hands in her own, placing it into her lap, thus stopping his picking at the letter. At this, Remus laid his head back down on her shoulder. "I know, but you will be able to see him soon, Remus. Your parents wouldn't knowingly cut you off from someone you love. For now, you just have to be there with your Grandmother, and help her last few days be the best."

Remus sighed. The air going into his answer back. "I know... but I can't help but hope that she dies tomorrow and that I don't have to go with her."

"Remus! That's a horrible thing to say!"

"But I'd be lying if I said I hoped that she would live until autumn." Remus heaved another sigh and crossed his leg towards Lily. "I hate having to leave and go to France. It's too far away from everyone and everything."

"What are you going to do when you get there?" Lily began to draw small designs on the top of Remus' hand.

"I don't know... go to secondary wizarding school I suppose."

"What are you going to study?"

"Defense Against The Dark Arts. It's my best class, and the one I know most about." Remus gestured towards his body. "All things considered..."

Lily nodded and rest her head against the top of Remus' head. "So you're going to study to become a Professor? Or are you planning to work at the Ministry?"

Remus was quiet for a moment, mulling over what Lily had just said. "Professor maybe... I don't think that I'm cut out for working in the Ministry – too many people."

"Well if you're a Professor, then you'll have students running around you all the time. There is far more students mixed with Professors than there are people working at the Ministry, Remus."

"I know. But at Hogwarts – I know the surroundings, I know the teachers. It'd be more comforting to be teaching in a place that I knew like the back of my hand." Remus felt Lily nod against the top of his head. "Besides, who in their right mind would hire a bloody werewolf other than Dumbledore?"

Lily laughed. "No one."

"Exactly. So, either I become a Professor and teach here – or, I live on the streets in Paris... selling my body for my next hit of heroine." Remus smiled and shook his head.

"Well, if that ever happens – you can come live with James and I... we'll support everything but your heroine habit."

"Excellent!" Remus laughed and sat up, running a hand through his hair. Remus turned around and looked at Lily, raising his hand to her cheek. "Thanks Lils..."

"What for?" Lily's smile was wistful as her eyebrows furrowed just a little before straightening out.

"For being a friend."

Lily blushed and her smile widened. "Anything for you, Remus."

Remus sat back and clasped his hands in his lap, crossing his legs once more towards Lily as he sunk into the chair. The two sat in silence, their attention captured by the dancing fire. Realizing that he had forgotten his watch up on his bedside table, Remus turned his head to look at Lily after the long silence. "What time is it?"

Lily broke her gaze and looked towards Remus. "Hmm? Oh..." She lift her delicate hand and looked at the watch. "About half past seven. Why?"

"I was wondering where Peter was. We havn't been seeing much of him at all lately." Remus turned his head again and looked towards the fire. "What do you think he's up to?"

"Oh I don't know, a new girlfriend perhaps? Maybe he's spending all his time studying."

Remus' laugh sounded more or less like a scoff than anything else. "Oh yes, Peter... studying – that'll be the day that hell freezes over."

"Hey now... Peter does study – he just doesn't take anything in..." Lily grinned when Remus began to giggle slightly.

"Yes... but in all honesty – I havn't seen him all week except for classes. What can he be doing that's so important that he has to bugger off and never spend time with his friends?"

Lily looked towards the sudden noise at the stairs and then back towards Remus. "Well, why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Wha? Oh!" Remus jumped up and looked towards the stairwell. "Oi! Peter! Come here!"

Peter looked up from the book he was reading and around the room until his eyes fell on Remus. Peter smiled and started a new course towards his friend. "Oh hey Remus, Lily... what's up?"

Lily smiled and crossed her legs, resting her hands on her knee as she lent forward. "Hello, Peter."

Remus crossed his arms. "Where have you been the last week?"

"Oh... you know – reviewing, studying."

Remus looked down at Lily and smirked. Lily returned the smile and lent back.

"Is that so? Well why havn't you found the time to sit around with us?" Remus raised an eyebrow and lent forward slightly.

"Erm..." Peter lent back from Remus and his eyes darted towards Lily for a second before moving back to Remus. "I don't know... I always figured that you didn't care if I was around or not... so I didn't think it mattered, that's why I didn't tell you."

"Of course we care if you're around, Peter!" Remus smiled and lent back. "You're our friend, are you not?"

Peter narrowed his eyes. "You Remus, have taken on Sirius' personality."

Lily smiled as she spoke, tilting her head to the side slightly. "Is that why you've been so detached? Too many Sirius' running around?"

"Um..."

"I'd be scared right out of my pants if there was more than one." Lily looked towards Remus. "But, you are right Peter, he does act a little bit more like Sirius than he does himself."

Remus narrowed his eyes at Lily as she spoke. "Wait until I tell Sirius that you all think I'm a clone of him... I'm sure he'd get quite upset with you, Lily dearest."

"Ohh, is that so? Well – why don't you run and tell him, and let me know what he says?" Lily tilted her head towards Remus and grinned.

"See, I would, but – I havn't got a clue where he is."

"They're at the Quidditch pitch." Peter spoke up, his eyebrows raised.

"...They?" Remus turned his head and looked at Peter.

"James and Sirius... Sirius is helping the team captain with James's training." Peter closed the book he was holding and dropped his hand, holding the book at his side.

"Hmmm... well in that case, I do know where they are – and I am still not yet motivated enough to move." Remus grinned and uncrossed his arms, stretching. He lent back far enough to crack his back and allow about 5 inches of his stomach to show from under his shirt.

By this time, Sirius and James had entered the room. Sirius walked towards Lily, Remus, and Peter and watched as Remus let his arms fall from above his head to cover his face as he yawned. Smirking, Sirius put a finger over his lips as he tiptoed towards his boyfriend. Then, just as Remus was about to pull his hands away from his face, Sirius reached out and grabbed Remus' waist, pulling him towards his body in a hug. This was the first time that any of Remus' friends had heard him give Lily a run for her money in the form of a scream. Sirius winced, as Remus had just screamed, no, screeched into his right ear.

Remus stood with wide eyes as he breathed heavily, attempting to catch his breath and will his heart to slow down. Remus blinked at looked up into Sirius' eyes. "If you do that again, I am going to castrate you and send you to live with the choir boys."

"Aww... you wouldn't... you need that part of my anatomy just as much as I do." Sirius placed a gentle kiss to Remus' neck. "Hello."

"Some hello." Remus pouted as he felt his heart begin to slow down. "You scared the shit out of me."

Sirius' breath was warm on Remus ear when he spoke. "I'm sorry love, I won't do it again."

"You'd better not..." Remus lifted his arms from between his and Sirius' body and wrapped them around Sirius' neck. Remus smiled before he felt Sirius's lips against his own.

"Get a room." James laughed as he sat down on the arm of the chair beside Lily.

"No thank-you, I happen to enjoy public displays of affection." Sirius grinned as he left one arm around Remus' waist and turned to face James.

"What for?"

"Because it makes Peter squeamish." Sirius winked when he looked over at his pudgy friend. "Speaking of which, where have you been Wormtail?"

"Studying."

"Studying?!" Sirius began to laugh, as did James. Remus rolled his eyes and let his hands fall from around Sirius' neck and to his sides. "Peter, Peter, Peter – you do not study."

"I do so!" Peter shoved the book he was holding in Sirius' direction. "See?"

Sirius removed his arm from around Remus' waist and took the book. Sirius looked from the book to Peter, and back again. He cleared his throat before he began to speak. "'Advanced Divination: A Guide to the Universe'...?"

"Since when did you take Advanced Divination?" James cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrow. "I don't remember that on your schedule in the beginning of the year."

"Oh!" Peter took the book back from Sirius and brushed the surface of it off – as if he was brushing off dust. "Well I started taking an extra class after school the second week into the school year. The regular class was really easy – so I talked to McGonagall and she switched it around for me after she spoke with Dumbledore. They let me do both classes at once." Peter's face broke out into a large smile as soon as he had finished talking.

"Is that so..." Sirius lifted his arm and clapped Peter on the back. "Well – good luck on the N.E.W.Ts test next month then."

"It's actually really easy! I don't think I'll have a problem with it. Even though I'm taking two classes with the same subject manner." Peter grinned.

"Really...? Well... wow, that's... that's... rather surprising." James smiled as he watched Peter nod.

"Right... well... as much as I'd love to stay and chat – I need a shower." Sirius put his hands to his hips.

Remus raised his eyebrows as he took a breath, noticing a smell that wasn't there before. "Oh my dear God... yes you most certainly do..." Remus wrinkled his nose and looked off to the side, his face in a slight grimace.

Sirius grinned and turned to Remus. "Care to join me?"

"I've already showered, thank-you."

"You sure?" Sirius lifted his eyebrow and smirked.

Remus studied Sirius' face for a moment before shaking his head. "No. I'm already clean."

"Oh for Christ's sake – just go stand in there with him or he won't let it die, Moony." James crossed his arms loosely across his chest and shook his head.

At this, Sirius broke into a large smile and raised his eyebrows. "You're an excellent friend, Prongsie. You know me very well."

Remus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Get moving."

Sirius grinned and took Remus' hand as he began to walk towards the staircase. "Don't wait up for us!"

"That's disgusting!" Peter made a face and sat down on the couch.

"It's not quite as disgusting as you think it is Peter. It's really rather quite nice."

Remus let go of Sirius hand and placed both his hands onto Sirius back – pushing him up the stairs. "Shut up and get moving Casanova."

"You really think I'm that good?"

"Again, Shut UP!"

"Be careful Remus, you may just hurt my feelings."

"If you don't shut up I may hurt more than your feelings... now lift your damn feet and walk up the bloody stairs you useless lump of a person!"

"I resent that."

"Resent it all you want, just MOVE while you do it."

"They are definitely two of a kind." Lily shook her head and laughed as the bickering couple's voices slowly began to fade, and, by the sounds of their voices – both were smiling. James nodded his head as he looked at the stairs, and Peter shook his head and rolled his eyes as he opened his book and began to read once more.

Remus hopped up onto the counter and tucked his hands underneath his thighs as he watched the fuzzy image of Sirius in the shower. Remus began to shake his head as soon as Sirius had started to sing 'twinkle, twinkle little star' as he washed his hair. A whining 'Oww' interrupted the song every now and then, considering he had seemingly just developed a terrible problem of keeping the shampoo out of his eyes.

"IT STINGS REMUS!"

"Then wash it out, Sirius." Remus laughed, shook his head, and looked down at his feet, which he had begun to swing. Remus soon heard gurgling noises from the shower. "...Did you get it in your mouth?"

"No... I was thirsty."

"And being thirsty means that you have to gurgle instead of drink?"

Sirius spat out a mouthful of water and gave Remus an excited answer. "...Yes!"

"Are you done?"

"I have to wash my back still, you slave driver!"

"I asked once Sirius."

"See above answer!"

Remus rolled his eyes and smiled. "There is no above answer, this isn't a multiple choice test."

"It can be a multiple choice test, you know."

Remus sighed. "Ooh, okay... so, give me your answer: You are either a) done, b) not done, c) nearly done, or d) none of the above."

A pause, then a very keyed up answer. "E!"

"There is no 'e', Sirius." Remus shook his head and smiled as he looked down at his swinging feet.

"Sure there is, you just don't realize it."

"You know, you're like those people who when you ask them to pick a number between one and three they immediately yell out five." Remus heard Sirius break out into laughter.

"How right you are... though I've only done that once."

"I know... I was the one who asked you to pick."

"Huh... Fancy that... TOWEL!"

Remus hopped off of the counter and walked towards the towel that Sirius had brought into the shower. He picked it up and held it out, waiting for Sirius to turn off the water.

"Have you seen the soap, Remus?"

"No, Sirius. I havn't been in the shower. You are currently in there – so, look for it." Remus shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.

"I can't find it, Remus." Sirius opened the door leading to the shower. "Help me!"

"No, Sirius, I – AHHH!!"

Sirius had reached out, grabbed Remus by the waist, and pulled him into the shower stall. Remus stood under the fountain of water, eyes closed, soggy towel in one hand. Remus opened his eyes and glared up at Sirius.

"Why my dear, you look like a drowned rat." Sirius grinned and reached forward, brushing a strand of hair out of Remus' face.

"That's it, Sirius Black. No sex for a year." Remus growled and threw the towel down on the tiled floor and began to walk towards the shower door.

"That's not fair!"

"Yeah? And neither is bloody well soaking me you insolent brat!" Remus whirled around, sending little droplets of water to spray Sirius in the face.

Sirius immediately sobered. "Wow... that was really low of you to say."

Sirius shook his head and moved to turn off the tap. He then pushed past Remus and out into the bathroom. Remus rolled his eyes and ran his hands through his hair, following Sirius out of the shower stall.

"Sirius-"

"Nevermind Remus, just... let me get a towel and I'll be out of here in a minute."

"Your not being fair, Sirius."

Sirius turned around, clearly angry, as his cheeks had begun to take on a pink tinge. "And you're being a right asshole."

Remus was taken aback slightly. He furrowed his eyebrows. "What...?"

"You're being an asshole Remus."

"Yeah because you fucking soaked me!"

Sirius shook his head and turned to leave the bathroom. Remus quickly jumped forward and grabbed Sirius' wrist. "Wait-"

"No, Remus... I was trying to cheer you up but obviously that's not going to happen because you're being a real..." Sirius stopped and took a breath. "Just... let go of me before I say something I'm going to regret."

"Do you want to know why I'm not in the best of moods? Did it ever occur to you to ask?"

Sirius whipped his wrist out of Remus' hand. "Why Remus? Is your perfect life not going so well anymore? If so, please, _do_ enlighten me with your horrible reason as to why you are in such a bad mood."

Remus took a deep breath to calm his anger. "I got the letter back from my mother tonight."

"So?"

"The answer is no, Sirius. After graduation I won't be seeing you for a very, very, long time. Excuse me if that isn't reason enough to be upset." Remus immediately dropped his head and pushed past Sirius, leaving the bathroom.

Sirius' gaze fell to the floor as he felt realization sweep over him. He brought his hands up to his face and scrubbed his eyes. "...Shit..." Sirius turned around and started to follow his boyfriend. "Remus!"

Sirius went to the only place that would have made sense – the dorms. And upon entering, he found Remus to be frantically looking through his suitcase, looking for dry clothes.

"Remus I-"

"Drop it, Sirius... just... let me find my clothes and get out of here." Remus pulled out a pair of jeans and threw them onto his bed.

"No. I'm not going to ignore something that's so obviously made you upset."

Remus turned around, his eyes brimming with tears as he held a t-shirt in his hands. "What and it hasn't made you upset?" Remus turned around again and began to search for a pair of boxers.

"Yeah, Remus – I am upset about it but-"

"But what Sirius? But you don't really care? But you knew it would happen?" Remus threw a pair of clean boxers onto his bed on top of the sweater. He then began to peel off his soaked shirt.

"No! Will you bloody well let me finish?!"

Remus rolled his eyes, throwing his wet shirt to the corner with a dull thump. He then turned around and crossed his arms. "Fine. Finish."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "I was going to say that I was sorry for calling you an asshole, and pulling you into the shower."

"Lovely. Thank-you – apology accepted. Is that all?"

"Why are you being so damn difficult?!"

"Because I'm upset, Sirius! I just found out that I'm going to be separated for months from the one person that I love more than anything in the world and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it!" Remus felt tears begin to fall down his cheeks as he took in a deep breath.

"Remus just... come here..." Sirius began to walk forward as he held out his arms.

"No! I'm wet and I need to change!" Remus turned around and slammed the top of his trunk down before beginning to work on the belt of his pants. He blinked furiously, trying to see through the tears that had clouded his eyes.

Sirius walked up behind Remus and wrapped his arms around Remus' waist, stilling his frantic hands. He kissed the back of Remus' neck and felt Remus' body shudder as he began to cry.

"Shh... baby I'm right here, it's okay." Sirius kissed Remus' shoulder and began to lightly sway back and forth. "Shh..."

Remus' breath caught in his throat as he cried. "I hate them... why did they have to-" Remus dropped his head to his chest and let out a hitched breath.

"I don't know, but we can work through this, Rem..." Sirius' voice was soft and gentle as he pressed his cheek to the side of Remus' head.

Remus pushed away from Sirius and turned around, his amber eyes flashed yellow for an instant as his rage exploded and he screamed at his mate. "I DON'T WANT TO WORK THROUGH IT!"

"Remus – just..."

"NO!" Remus took a deep breath and felt tears fall down his cheeks. "I don't want to work through it!"

Sirius tilted his head slightly to the side, his voice still soft – in a near whisper. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to have to loose you all over again," Remus raked his hands through his hair. "I don't want to be alone when I leave, I don't want to have to deal with being alone like I have had to my entire life. I don't want to..." Remus brought his hands up to his face and broke down into more sobs. "I don't want to do this," Remus rocked to the side and moved his hands, bringing them through his hair. "I don't want to do this..."

"Do what, Remus?"

"This!" Remus motioned weakly between himself and Sirius.

"What... Us?" Sirius felt his heart begin to pound at a very unexpected rate, and it felt as if his soul was beginning to feel detached from his body.

"Yes! ... No... God – I don't know... I just can't..." Remus fell and sat on the top of his trunk. He let his head fall into his hands as he cried. His shoulders trembled, and his breath constantly hitched as the tears poured from his eyes.

Sirius watched as Remus rocked back and forth slightly. "So... you want to end it."

Remus' voice was high pitched as it cut through his tears. "...No..."

Sirius felt tears burn in the corners of his eyes. "Then what are you saying?"

Remus let his hands drop from his face as he looked over at Sirius. "I'm saying that I love you and that I don't want to be separated from you."

"Then what is this nonsense about not wanting to do it?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Sirius closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then began to walk towards Remus, and kneeled infront of him. Sirius took Remus' left hand out of his hair and brought the ring that he had put onto Remus' finger to his lips. "I love you, Remus, but there's nothing we can do other then to work through it and be patient." Sirius reached up and took Remus' cheek in his hand. "Remy I don't like seeing you cry... all the while knowing that there isn't anything that I can do to make it better. Pull the strength you need from me to help yourself through this."

Remus sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and gnawed on the tender skin. Remus looked into Sirius' eyes and felt his eyebrows twitch as he tried to keep his tears from falling from his eyes. Soon enough, Remus lost his control and brought Sirius' into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Siri... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Sirius wrapped his arm around Remus's shaking form and kissed his shoulder. "Don't apologize, it's alright."

"No it's not... I shouldn't have snapped at you like that and-"

"Shh... just let me hold you."

Remus nodded against Sirius' neck and after a while, began to feel his tears slow to an eventual stop. Remus sniffed and sat up, rubbing the back of his hand under his nose as he looked down. Sirius gently combed his fingers through Remus' hair repeatedly to calm him, leaning forward every now and then to kiss him on any available patch of skin on his face.

"Are you alright now?"

Remus looked down into his lap and nodded weakly as he sniffed.

Sirius smiled and bent down slightly, catching Remus' eyes with his own. "...I love you."

Remus broke out into a smile and once more wrapped his arms around Sirius' neck. "I love you too."

Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus' waist and held him quietly for a few moments before stating the obvious. "Rem, as much as I love holding you, and I do, I love it so much," Sirius bent his neck and placed a soft kiss to Remus' neck. "But my man marbles are about to freeze off..."

Remus laughed and pulled back from Sirius. "Man marbles?" Sirius shrugged, a smirk on his lips. "If they're so cold, then get changed."

"Only if you don't burst out into water works again." Sirius smiled as he looked into Remus' eyes.

"I won't." Remus let his arms fall from around Sirius' neck.

Sirius' smile widened as he let his hand come to a rest at the back of Remus' neck. He lent forward and caught Remus' lips in slow and gentle kiss. Sirius smiled against Remus' lips, as he tasted the remains of Remus' tears. Placing a last and hasty kiss to Remus' lips, Sirius began to stand up, pausing his movement to kiss the tip of Remus' nose, and the worry lines on his forehead. Remus dissolved into a helpless smile as he felt Sirius' lips grace the top of his head in yet another kiss. Remus feathered his hands over Sirius' skin before letting them come to a gentle rest on Sirius' hips. Remus watched as Sirius' hands took a hold of both of his, taking them away from his hips to hold up to his mouth. Sirius then smiled and closed his eyes, kissing both of the tops of Remus' hands before gently placing them into Remus' lap.

Remus smiled and looked up at Sirius. Sirius winked and lent down once more to kiss Remus' lips. Remus gladly kissed his mate back, feeling his chest swell slightly as they kissed. Sirius ended the kiss and smiled before beginning to feather kisses along Remus' jaw and randomly around his face.

Remus laughed and brought his hands up to place to either side of Sirius' face. "Stop kissing me,"

"Why? I love kissing you."

"If you don't stop, your... ehem... man marbles as you call them – will fall off."

Sirius shrugged. "They can fall off all they'd like. They can even throw a temper tantrum if they'd like. But right now, I just want to kiss you."

"One last kiss, then you go get changed. You may not need your man marbles, but I do." Remus smiled.

Sirius whimpered slightly and lent forward, kissing Remus gently on the lips. Before Remus could pull away, Sirius kissed him again and held his lips in a long embrace. Remus made a slight noise in the back of his throat – something that could be described as a small laugh or a happy sigh. Remus ended the kiss first, and, after placing one last kiss to Sirius' lips, he opened his eyes and pushed Sirius' face away lightly.

"Get changed!"

Sirius pouted and began to walk towards his trunk. "You're a slave driver."

"You enjoy it, admit it." Remus grinned and stood up, walking towards his bed. "You like it when I tell you what to do."

Sirius laughed and pulled his towel off from around his waist. He bent over and toweled away what wetness was left in his hair before replying. "It's not that I enjoy you telling me what to do," Sirius cleared his throat and threw his damp towel to the side. "I just that enjoy the look on your face when you tell me what to do, and, thus – I do it. It's sort of like a chain reaction."

"Ooh and what exactly do I look like when I tell you what to do?" Remus laughed and pulled his still wet pants down his legs, gratefully stepping out of them. He looked down and was amazed when he found that his legs weren't great prunes.

"Extremely, and undeniably sexy." Sirius smirked and pulled on a pair of black silk boxers.

"Really, is that so?" Remus smiled and pulled on the boxers he had thrown onto his bed. "It's cold."

"It is so, and would you like for me to warm you up, oh sweetest darling of mine?"

Remus shook his head, a smile still on his lips as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. "I can hardly imagine anything I do to be sexy... but – if you think so, then it must be true. And no – I've got a t-shirt."

"Everything you do is sexy, Remy!" Sirius pulled on a pair of shorts. "How can you deny yourself the irrevocable truth that you are a walking sex machine?!" At this, Remus laughed as he pulled up his jeans. "Just a t-shirt? How can that keep you warm?"

"I'm not a walking sex machine, I'm a walking basket-case – a poor excuse for a man. And yes, a t-shirt. It'll keep me plenty warm as soon as my skin finishes de-pruning..." Remus examined the skin on the fleshy part of his fingers.

Sirius grinned and slipped on his muscle shirt. "You are a basket-case, no argues from me," Remus turned around and shot Sirius a quick glare. "But – you are most certainly a man. Oh yes, you are as manly as they come."

"As manly as crying men can manage to be."

"Indeed!" Sirius smiled and walked towards Remus, stopping infront of him. "I don't care that you cry. You're in touch with your emotions and-"

"That classifies me as being a girly-boy. Boy's don't cry."

"You are no ordinary boy, Remus."

"I'm not? Good Lord then what am I?!" Remus held a hand up to his chest in mock horror as he looked into Sirius' eyes.

"You are, of course – the lover and mate of the infamous Sirius Black." Sirius held his chin high and smiled at his self-compliment.

"So... that makes me a sex toy to the _arguably_ infamous Sirius Black. Excellent – that's what I've always aspired to be ever since I was a child." Remus grinned and placed his hands to his hips.

"You aren't a sex toy, my darling. You are most certainly not a sex toy. I'm upset that you would even joke about classifying yourself as one."

"Then what am I, Sirius Black?" Remus stepped forward and placed his hands to Sirius' hips. "If I am not a sex toy, and I'm not a girly-boy, then I must be something, and – you seem to hold the answer."

Sirius smiled warmly and took Remus' hands in his own, bringing them up to his lips. "It's simple really," Sirius kissed the knuckles of Remus' right hand. "You're my soulmate."

"Arguably, that is the most cheesy answer I have ever heard when posed with a question of utmost importance." Remus smiled in spite of himself, and felt a blush creep along his cheeks.

"I would be lying if I said otherwise." Sirius smiled and lent forward.

Remus felt Sirius' breath ghost over his lips, and he knew that Sirius was going to wait for Remus to initiate the kiss. So, taking his chance, Remus spoke instead. "We should be tarred and feathered for being so completely sappy."

"Perhaps..." Sirius closed the space between their lips. "But it would be rather fun to be tarred and feathered someday – don't you think? It would make for a very lovely picture."

"Mmm... careful Mr. Black – you may have just given me an idea for your birthday party."

Sirius immediately lent back and his eyes went wide. "Birthday party?!"

Remus laughed and tilted his head further up to look into Sirius' eyes. "Perhaps."

"Oh, oh you are a cruel man, Remus. Very cruel indeed."

"I am not cruel, I am anything but cruel." Remus kissed Sirius' neck "I'm soft, easily moved to tears, and ever so thoughtful." Remus smiled and was surprised when Sirius let go of his hands and moved to grip Remus's shoulders in his large hands. "Wha-"

"You can't just mention a birthday party and not follow through with the thought! What's this noise about a party? You _have_ to tell me!"

"I don't _have_ to tell you anything, Sirius." Remus' voice was annoyingly soft and high as he spoke.

"_Yes_ you _do_!"

"All you need to know, is that yes – you do get a party. We simply can't let Sirius Black's 18th birthday go by without notice." Remus raised his eyebrows. "Ask me any more questions and you'll get smacked every time you do."

"When is it?"

Remus lifted his hand and smacked Sirius rather hard across the arm. "No questions."

"But Remus-"

"No questions!" Remus grabbed Sirius' jaw in his hand. "That means that you can't ask James, you can't ask Peter, and you can't ask Lily."

"Oh are they involved in it?!"

"Sirius!" Remus lifted his free hand and smacked Sirius once more.

"Oww!"

"Then stop asking questions! I'm not one to break a promise."

Sirius groaned and began to pout. "But it's my party-"

"And you'll cry if you want to... blah, blah, blah – you'll have to exercise a little known resource of yours and be patient. There's only two and a half weeks until the 18th."

"Of July?"

"No you daft, gorgeous man!" Remus let go of Sirius' jaw and stepped back, out of Sirius' reach. "The 18th of June. Your birthday is in June, my dear – remember?"

"So the party will be i-" Sirius immediately stopped himself from asking another question, as he watched Remus' hand lift from his side. "Right, no questions. You're making this very difficult for me, Remus."

"It's my job."

"No, your job is to love me and kiss me and hold me and tell me when my birthday party is going to take place." Sirius' face broke out into a huge _'beginning-to-melt-Remus'-self-control' _smile.

Remus groaned and walked past his boyfriend. He was about to walk past the edge of his bed when his hand was caught and his body was yanked back in the direction he had just left. Remus fell back rather clumsily, and luckily Sirius caught Remus and wrapped his arms around Remus' small frame.

"If you kiss me I won't ask about my birthday anymore."

Remus looked up into those devious eyes – eyes that promised something more than a kiss if it happened. Remus paused for a minute. "Just a kiss?"

Sirius' eyes shone slightly, as the devious look slowly deflated. "Yes, just a kiss."

Remus smirked and lifted himself up on his tiptoes in order to press his lips to Sirius'.

"And here we thought they'd broken up..." James sighed and lent against the doorframe.

"I don't think there's a damn thing in this world, _or_ the next that would keep those two off of each other." Peter rolled his eyes and walked into the room.

Remus and Sirius laughed into each other's mouths at their friend's voices. Remus pulled back to end the kiss, but one of Sirius hands had snaked – in record time – from Remus' lower back to the nape of his neck, bringing him back into a longer, much deeper kiss. Remus was about to refuse the kiss, when he felt Sirius' tongue against his lips. Knowing that Remus wouldn't be able to refuse – Sirius continued to run his tongue along Remus' lips before Remus finally (and rather faithfully) forgot what he was about to refuse too – and willingly opened his mouth with a light noise seeping from the back of his throat and into Sirius' mouth.

James rolled his eyes. "Think they can manage a day without nearly launching into a copulation fest?"

"Oh you enjoy it, James. Don't hide your lust." Sirius stopped kissing his lover just long enough to speak before diving back into the warmth and comforting sweetness that was Remus' mouth.

James came and stood beside his friends, and crossed his arms. His eyes critically glazed over the couple infront of him. "My God Peter! Look at-"

"I'm not watching anything that has to do with those two kissing. No thank-you." Peter grimaced and turned his back to the couple as he sat down on his bed.

Remus actually giggled slightly as he finally let his now rather pink and swollen lips leave Sirius'. Remus backed away slightly and ran the back of his hand along his lips, devoiding them of any moisture from Sirius' mouth. Remus then turned and looked into James' hazel eyes. "Jealous?"

"Possibly." James grinned and stepped back, turning to walk to his bed.

"Poor, poor, Prongsie..." Sirius sat down rather lazily on Remus' bed, leaning back and supporting himself with his elbows.

"Why poor, poor me?" James looked up from his trunk.

"Well, since you are bisexual – you most likely found it rather stimulating watching Remus and I just a few seconds ago. And, it's poor, poor you because you can't do anything about those urges – if you happened to have any."

"Who says I have urges?" James settled on the end of his bed, sifting through a Quidditch magazine he had pulled from his trunk. "I don't have any urges."

"The response to my question." Remus smirked and lay stomach down on his bed, facing James. "You should choose your responses much more carefully if you don't want to be berated for it in the future." Remus looked down at Sirius shorts and reached over to pick a piece of fuzz off of them. He rolled it between his fingers briefly before reaching out and dropping it on the floor.

"I may be bisexual," Said James as he flipped through the pages of his magazine, "But not everything you two do gets me going. You give yourself far too much credit."

"Maybe we do, but, you have to admit – Remus is a very good kisser."

"He most definitely is a good kisser," James grinned as he looked up into Sirius' eyes. "But that's completely off topic."

"Since when does anything we talk about make sense? I rather prefer to jump from subject to subject. It makes life much more manageable and random." Sirius smirked and crossed his ankles.

Remus rolled his eyes and got off of the bed. "I'm going for a walk."

"Aww... have we embarrassed you, Moony?" James tilted his head to the side, a mock look of concern crossing his features.

Remus shook his head and grabbed his shoes. "No. I just don't want to sit around anymore. I feel like walking."

"Alone?"

"Alone." Remus smiled at Sirius and slipped his shoes on.

"Why alone?" Sirius rolled onto his side and faced Remus.

"Just because... if that's alright with you?" Remus turned his attention quickly to Sirius before looking back at his shoes to tie the one on his left foot up.

"It is alright with me."

"Good." Remus finished tying his shoes and turned his body slightly, kissing Sirius gently on the lips. "I'll return in an hour or so."

"I'll count down the seconds till we meet again." Sirius grin widened as he watched Remus hop off of the bed and start towards the door.

"Yes, alright Romeo – you do that."

"My God! Casanova and Romeo, and all in one night!" Sirius laughed when Remus rolled his eyes and disappeared from the room.

Sirius flipped onto his back and turned his head to look over at James. "So do you think we have a chance at winning the House Cup?"

"Sure..." James stopped to briefly scan over an article about broomstick grooming kits. He then looked up from the magazine, and nudged his glasses back up his nose. "I mean it's an equal chance between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor."

"Hufflepuff's seeker is really amazing... have you seen him in action?"

"Oh, yeah. I've seen him perform some moves that I couldn't even _dream_ of performing. I swear to God, no, _Merlin_ that they have a stunt double for him that just magically appears out of thin air and takes his place." James held up his hands (near his head) and moved them quickly, and slightly towards and away from his body, fingers spread. "It's magic I tell you. Magic."

"GOOD GOD!" Sirius rolled over and sat up. "Not magic! Anything but magic! We should report them, that's what we should do!"

"Yeah! Those bastards!" James fisted his hand slightly, and laughed as Sirius' jaw dropped open in teasing shock.

"My ears!" Sirius immediately moved to cover his ears. "James Potter! How dare you swear infront of children!"

"There aren't any children here..." Peter looked up from his book, a smile playing on his face.

"Sure there is!" Sirius got up and walked towards Peter's bed. "You are a child still, Wormtail."

Peter's mouth dropped open quickly before he sneered. "I'm already 18! I turned 18 before any of you did!"

"Sure, sure, Wormtail, sure, sure." Sirius turned around and hooked his thumb over his shoulder at Peter. "That boy has taken to lying like second nature, Prongsie."

"Good Lord what are we to do?" James rolled his eyes, still not facing Sirius and Peter.

"It's simple really." Sirius grinned. "We plan a prank."

James turned and looked at Sirius. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"MY GOD!" Sirius crossed his arms. "You poor excuse for a Marauder! I'm ashamed of you, Prongs. Very ashamed indeed."

"Yeah, I mean, there's nothing wrong with pulling a prank every now and then..." Peter offered as he shrugged his shoulders. "As long as we don't get caught, anyway."

"AH!" Sirius turned around, causing Peter to jump with his exclamation. "That's it old boy! Come on; let's leave Miss. Potter over there to tend to his magazine and we'll plan something by ourselves..." Sirius dropped down on the bed infront of Peter, leaning close.

"Hey now – no secrets."

"Why?" Sirius asked as innocently as he could. "You know we'd never keep a secret from you, dear Prongsie."

"Yeah, course you wouldn't." James rolled his eyes and hopped off his bed, throwing his magazine to someplace near his pillow. He then set a brisk walk towards Peter's bed and hopped on to the side that no one was sitting on. "Now, what's this prank business?" James finished, a trademark Marauder smirk on his lips.

"Excellent man Prongs!" Sirius clapped him proudly on the shoulder and lent in, beginning the early stages of planning for the next prank that would wreak the halls of Hogwarts.

Remus stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked along the side of the Lake, watching where he placed his feet – lest he was to step on a bug or frog. He finally came to a stop around the bend of the Lake, and bent down, picking up a thin, round rock and turned to his side, throwing it out into the water. Remus watched as the rock skipped over the surface of the water five times before turning it's direction in the air somehow and making a 'bloink' sound as it dropped into the lake – slowly settling to the bottom.

Remus continued to throw rocks across the surface of the water for a while, until the giant squid's tentacle surfaced, putting a quick end to Remus' game. Remus nodded out of respect for the squid and set down his other rocks, beginning his course back towards the castle. He hadn't noticed that he spent a little more than an hour and a half walking alone along the lake, and as he looked up – he caught sight of the moon. The moon had a slight dip out of the side, making it look as if someone had just taken a very small bite out of a round cookie. Remus let his knees give way as he lie back on the grass, crossing his arms under his head to use as a makeshift pillow.

No matter how much Remus swore every night under his breath that he hated the moon... he couldn't bring himself to actually mean it. The moon had always been – and always would be the constant in Remus' life. At times, he felt as if he loved the moon. Loved the way the dips and curves of the caverns on the moon's surface created a seemingly happy face. It wasn't the moon's fault that Remus was a werewolf – and he knew that. But he needed someone other than himself to blame for his affliction, didn't he? He couldn't very well say that it was his own childhood stupidity that got him bitten. Or... could he? Remus had struggled with the truth of his Lycanthropy ever since he was bitten as a child, and only now did he actually realize that perhaps he was, oddly enough - meant to be a werewolf. Could the man or woman who bit him that night, had some cosmic, psychic or plain mad reason behind it? Did she, he, or whoever it was - bite him so that he would find his mate? If he had not been bitten, and he was just plain old sandy blonde haired, amber eyed Remus - would he have still met Sirius, James, Lily, and Peter?

Remus heaved a sigh and sat up, rubbing his hands over his face. Remus felt a shiver work it's way up his spine, so, cupping his hands in a loose circle infront of himself, Remus's eyes began to shine as a small fire lit inside the safety of his hands. He studied watched the small dancing flame that looked as if it was suspended between his palms by some magical string on either side of the licking warmth. Remus felt his body warm as he stared blankly at the flame, watching as out of focus flames appeared and disappeared – flickering left then right and danced up and down.

Once Remus had warmed, he lifted his arms and held the fire infront of his face, and, un-cupping his hands, Remus held both his palms towards the increasingly starry sky and watched as a light breeze blew out the small flame. Remus sat in silence for a few moments before the wind wrapped her cool arms around his body and urged him to stand and walk back towards the castle.

Remus watched the grass blow slowing in circles and waves as he trudged up the hill towards the entrance to the school. Once Remus reached the top of the hill, he broke into a brisk run, seeing as how it was nearly time for the gates to be locked. Remus made it to the gate just as Filch was closing it, and he smiled and bowed his head in thanks as he ducked under Filch's arm and veered his direction towards the Gryffindor tower.

Remus offered an apologetic smile to the Fat Lady as he passed through the Gryffindor threshold. The Fat Lady smiled and clicked tightly shut behind him. Remus then began to drag his feet towards the stairs, and only now realized how tired he had actually been. Silently thanking the wind for lightly pushing him inside, Remus slowly made his way up the stairs and towards his dorm, stopping at the doorway to let his eyes adjust slowly to the dark. Reason being, he really didn't want to repeat the incident from months ago when he tripped over his bag after being stuck in the infirmary all day.

Remus' eyes adjusted quickly – being as he was a 'creature of the night'. His mind briefly thought about changing into his pajamas, but as soon as he had made it to the side of his bed – the thought had vanished all too quickly and all he could think of was taking his pants off and falling into the giving comfort of the mattress. Remus did just that, and, just before falling – he turned abruptly and made course for Sirius' bed.

Remus crawled under the covers, and beside his boyfriend - tucking his arm securely around Sirius' turned side. Sirius made a low keening noise in the back of his throat, and pushed his back against Remus' chest. Sirius then tucked his head towards his chest and smiled in his sleep, revealing a small amount of his bare shoulder from under his t-shirt when he moved. Remus took his opportunity to kiss the skin tenderly and slowly before letting his forehead come to a rest on the back of Sirius' neck.

"Night, Siri."

Sirius stirred slightly, sighing. "Night, Rem."

As he fell into the arms of sleep, Remus' lips turned up into a smile.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This feels like an 'in-limbo' chapter. Oddly enough...

Anyhow, I don't have the time to address everyone (Lie: I just don't feel like it, I feel like being lazy... O.o). So, Thank-you for all the reveiws! Last chapter I got... um, 33 reveiws? See if we can't beat that EH!? OH YES! (giggles) Anyhow, unnn - **IMPORTANT: **I'll only be updating bi-weekly until about January or so... considering I've just started my online courses - and I seem to have required a half ass life. (laughs) My ass... ANYWAY: Yeah, expect to have a couple weeks at most between each chapter update. Thanks for being understanding - if you are understanding...

BUT! My readers are the BEST, so, you GOTTA be understanding, right? You all kick MUCH ass.

PS: To the guys who read this story - I didn't aww, I didn't OMG! GUY READERS!!1!!one!!1, I AUGHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ed at you. IE: I squee'd, only because that's it's all like... I dunno... nice to know that -some- (IE: one...) guy(s) read my crap story and are all "Hey! Idea's for sex... (eyes boyfriend)..."

Yeah, anyway, Thank-you all so much for the reveiws, and I hope that I continue to get tons more! Also, I'm leaving for a few days - not that me leaving has ANYTHING to do with you, nor this story... but, uhm... yes - you can know anyway... (looks to the side and hangs her head)

Oh dear... ANYWAY - Um.... spoilers? Meaning: _Conjunction of the stars and moon. We'll see it in September... (it's in POA and it's exposed for the Trio to see! OHMYGASP!!!!!) O.O!!_

Let's see if any of you can figure THAT one out?! EH? EH? EH?! BWAHAHAH!!!

I love you!


	31. Chapter 31 : Light R

(**AN::** The following italics is a dream sequence, of what would happen - be Remus not a Werewolf, and none of the Marauders friends.)

_Remus sat near the teacher's tables at lunch, in the Great Hall. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying desperately to force the shaggy threads of sandy blonde hair out of his eyes. Curling the hair behind his ears doesn't help, it only falls back again, and then the ends seem to fly out from behind his ears to stab him in the eye – causing his amber eyes to begin to water in irritation. Remus swears at his hair. He hates this ungrateful length and the fact that it is always brushing the nape of his neck, and shadowing along his cheeks constantly tickling the skin._

_Abandoning his effort to tuck his hair behind his ears, Remus gathers his hair into his hand, and rests his elbow on the wooden table. He holds the hair up at the crown of his head, finally happy that none of the hair is escaping from his long fingers. He can't wait until it's long enough to tie back and tuck – safely – behind his ears._

_Looking down at his parchment, Remus begins to write the difference between adult and young Unicorns for his Care of Magical Creatures essay. The young ones are golden, and the adult – white. He is immersed in his writings – big letters that join together for a long word, only to break from swift handwriting to become printing. Remus hates his writing. It's big, messy, and he can't ever keep it looking constant. Every day seems to bring a different type of cursive. Handwriting, printing, all of it jumbled into one, big letters, small letters, slanted, non-slanted._

_Remus sighs and dips his quill into the inkwell._

"_Hullo."_

_Remus looks up, startled. Someone is sitting on the table beside him, someone he doesn't really know. Remus lets his hair down, and it floats comfortably to frame his face. Reaching to his shoulder, Remus scratches it after he has set his quill down. "...Um, Hi."_

"_I'm Sirius Black."_

"..._I know." Remus smiles sheepishly from the corner of his mouth and looks back down at his parchment._

"_And you are..." Sirius Black tips his head to the side and scratches the back of his neck._

"_Oh! Remus Lupin." Remus lets his hands fall from above the table to underneath it, hiding the various dots and splashes of ink on his fingertips. Suddenly he feels nervous._

"_Remus?" Sirius smiles and nods his head. "How're you, Remus?"_

"_I'm fine..." Remus doesn't think to relate the question back to this boy who's sitting just inches away from his freshly finished Potions assignment._

"_That's good... Um... so I heard that you're really good at astrology...?"_

_Remus wonders vaguely if this Sirius Black – someone whom he's only talk to twice in his life, is up to something. Considering he hangs out with... who was it? That boy with the glasses who's always chasing Lily and the other one... umm... Pete? No, Peter – that's what his name is. Whatever these people's names are, Remus knows that they cause a lot of trouble around the school. "I suppose so. I know enough about it."_

_Remus notices that Sirius looks to the side slightly before bending down and leaning closer. "How much do you know about it?"_

"_Enough." Remus offers with a slight smile and raise of an eyebrow. He can't help but feel that Sirius almost doesn't want to be seen talking to him._

_Sirius nods. "Would you help me with it?"_

_Remus nearly breaks out into laughter, but contains it safely. "Help you? What for? I don't even know you Sirius."_

"_Sure you do, you know me now." Sirius smiles. "But yeah... I really need help with it. I havn't got any clue what we're supposed to be learning right now, and – I need to know it for the exam coming up."_

_Watching Sirius as he speaks, Remus sees that Sirius' eyes are blue after Sirius brushed his bangs away from his eyes. "Why don't you ask your friends? I think that maybe you should ask them before you ask someone you don't know to help you with the work you should already know." Remus pauses. "Why would you ask help from someone you've only spoken with twice?" He finishes with a quirked smile on his lips._

_Sirius furrows his eyebrows. "What? We... twice?"_

"_Yes... this being the second. The first was on the train in first year. You asked me if the seat was taken – I said it was... a-and then... you left and... s-shut the door..." Remus ran his hand through his hair and shook his head, feeling a slight blush tinge his cheeks. He spoke under his breath. "Shit..."_

"_You... you remembered that?" Sirius answered with a small laugh._

"_Err... yeah. I remember a lot of things. I have a really good memory. You know, I'm good at... err... remembering things. Information! I'm good at remembering information. Really good." Remus closed his eyes and sighed. Why was Remus feeling so nervous all of a sudden? Hell, it was just Sirius Black. Nothing far to important about him – nothing at all. He was just another person with gorgeous blue eyes and the shiniest black hair Remus had ever..._

_Sirius raised his eyebrows. He has noticed that Remus has become flustered. Jumbling his words together – repeating himself in a nervous fashion. Sirius smirked and looked around the room again, and lent down. He spoke in a small whisper. "Do you fancy me, Remus?"_

"_What?!" Remus' eyes shot up from the tabletop where they had previously been engaged with studying the swirls and knots of the wood. Remus lent forward slightly, eyes shifting quickly from side to side as he spoke in a small voice. "I-I'm not gay!"_

_Sirius shook his head, still smiling. "I didn't ask if you were gay. I asked if you fancied me."_

"_No! I don't!" Remus lent forward. "I don't fancy you, Sirius. I'm not gay."_

_Sirius lent back, a twinkle forming in his eye. "Yeah alright then... so will you help me?"_

_Remus felt extremely flustered. And his cheeks were uncomfortably hot. "Ask your friends... I don't think that I'm the person to help you..."_

"_Yeah, alright. I'll ask them and let you know tomorrow what they say. How's that sound?"_

"_I... fine, I suppose." Remus nodded._

"_Great!" Sirius jumped off of the table and smiled, flipping his head to the side – causing his long hair to fly out of his eyes. "See you later, mate."_

_Remus let out a small breath and spoke in a soft tone. "I... yeah, see you."_

_Sirius held up a hand and waved as he walked back towards the end of the table he sat at with the boy in the glasses... JAMES! James! That's what his name was... it was James... the end of the table where he sat with James and Peter. Remus held up his own hand, moving first upwards with jerking motions before falling to his lap again._

"_I can't believe you were talking to Sirius Black!" A girl, named Katrina Walker swooped down and rested her head on her hands. "He's so gorgeous... what did he want?"_

"_Help with his astrology homework... I think." Remus shrugged and lifted his eyebrows almost nervously, keeping eye contact with his only friend the whole time._

"_You thi-"_

_Katrina was interrupted by loud laughter at the other end of the table. Remus looked towards the sudden outburst and found that James was looking straight at him and laughing. Sirius lifted his hand and winked, still smiling – as he wiggled his fingers in Remus' direction._

_Remus's eyes went wide slightly as he stared at Sirius. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked back down at his books, which were sprawled out on the table infront of him. Remus then pressed his lips together in a line and began to quickly gather his books and parchment together. He spoke in a low tone to Katrina._

"_Turns out he didn't need help. He needed someone to pull a prank on. God I'm so stupid... I should have seen that... I-I have to go." Remus offered Katrina a small smile. "I'll talk to you later."_

_Remus quickly gathered his books into his arms and hurried past the laughing students. He turned and glared at Sirius, who was still sitting there with a smug smile on his face. Remus left the hall – feeling his cheeks burning with rage at the fact that he allowed Sirius – someone he shouldn't have trusted to begin with – to even talk to him. Remus shook his head and made way for the Gryffindor tower – suddenly not in the slightest hungry._

Lying on his side, Remus felt a warm finger running from between his eyebrow and down his nose. The finger tickled his skin, so, feeling it once more – Remus jerked his head to the side. The finger just wouldn't relent! Remus finally opened his eyes, only to come face to face with his mate. Sirius smiled.

"Morning."

Remus sighed happily and shifted his position, stretching his legs slightly. "Morning, Siri."

"How'd you sleep?" Sirius stayed on his side, facing Remus.

"Mmm... alright, I guess..." Yawning, Remus lay on his back and brought his hand up to his face to scratch under his nose with the back of his hand.

"You guess?" Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly as it rest on his hand.

"Mm... was a bit warm last night..." Remus grinned and that immediately prompted a loud yawn.

"Tends to happen when two bodies are sleeping together, love."

Remus opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Love...?"

"Am I not allowed to call you that, then?" Sirius cocked his head to the side, a small grin appearing on his lips.

"No... it's fine, you've just... you know, never called me that before."

Sirius grinned and leaned over, kissing Remus' forehead before he swirled around and sat up, legs dangling off of the side of the bed. Remus stretched for a moment, the bones in his back cracking back into place after having slept in a cramped place. Sitting up, he wrapped his arms around Sirius' stomach.

Remus dropped a kiss to Sirius' shoulder and whispered into his ear. "Race you to the showers?"

Before Sirius could react, Remus had pushed himself off of the bed, grabbed a towel from on top of his trunk, and raced towards the door.

"HEY!"

The loudness of Sirius's complaint caused everyone still in the dorms to grumble and turn over in their sleep. Had there been a camera, the picture would have caught many bodies turning all in synch with eachother onto their other side or stomach, and away from Sirius' booming voice and both boy's thundering footsteps.

Sirius let out a laugh and grabbed his own towel before running after Remus, making as much noise as possible in the process. By the time Sirius had made it to the showers, Remus was standing naked infront of him, a smile being the only thing he wore.

Sirius immediately closed the door, and as he turned around, his eyes roamed up and down Remus' body appreciatively.

"What's the occasion...?"

Remus grinned and looked down at Sirius' crotch before looking back up into his grey-blue eyes. "...Morning wood?"

Sirius laughed, stripped off his pajama pants, and began at a determined walk towards his lover. "As good a reason as any, I say."

"Mmm... do you? Because I've never heard you say that before." Remus quirked an eyebrow, a sly grin on his lips.

Sirius rolled his eyes and walked past Remus, a hand trailing over Remus' hip, his abdomen, and eventually his other hip. Remus felt his stomach flop as Sirius' lips pressed against his shoulder, and he immediately turned and wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist, feeling an inexplicable need to be close to his lover – not that Sirius was complaining.

Sirius grinned and pulled Remus forward towards the showers, and managed to detach him long enough to turn on the tap and find an appropriate temperature before Remus reached forward and pushed Sirius into the spray of the water with a smile.

Before Sirius could offer a word edgewise, whether it was to scold Remus for shoving him into the shower, or to say something idiotic like 'you've got me wet', Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius neck and shoved him back against the wall, capturing his lips in a hard kiss.

A muffled noise escaped Sirius throat as he tried his hardest to kiss Remus back with the same strength, and somehow wrap his mind around the idea that Remus was ravishing him in the shower – and with everyone who was still sleeping in earshot. A very un-Remusy thing to do... well, _sort of_. Sirius had just gotten the hang of handling Remus in this state (which, quite frankly, he rather liked), when Remus leant back, winked, and slipped down onto his knees.

"What in God's name are you _doing_, Remus?"

Remus looked up at Sirius, cocked his head to the side, and blinked. "Saying good morning."

"Good mor— we _already did that_, Remus... what's... why are you between my _legs_?" Sirius immediately wondered why he sounded as if he was protesting, and fought the urge to smash his head back against the tile for making such a mistake.

"Are you objecting to my means of saying good morning?"

"NO! ...No... no of course not... It's just..."

"Yes?"

"You... what's gotten into you?" Again with the protesting. Sirius immediately reached down and ran the backs of his fingers down the side of Remus' face. "Do me a favour... and nevermind that I said that... okay?"

Remus simply nodded and smiled, before ducking his head down and taking Sirius' length into his mouth. Sirius let out a very low moan when he felt pressure around the head of his penis and watched Remus' cheeks hollow. Sirius was convinced, that this was when Remus looked the most gorgeous-- on his knees, because it hardly ever happened anymore.

Just as Remus was about to reach up and fondle Sirius' sac, (a technique he had learned, whist reading 'How To' books in the deep of night under his blankets) the door bust open and James's voice filled the room.

"Morning!"

Letting out a loud groan, Sirius' head fell back and hit the tile of the shower's wall. And he watched, mournfully, as Remus stood up and shrugged. "...Morning, Prongs."

Stretching, James yawned and pulled off his boxers, getting ready to shower. "Sleep well?"

"What do you have to be so happy about this morning?!" Sirius snapped, as he watched Remus lather his hair with shampoo.

"Everything! The birds, the trees, th--"

"You and Lily shagged, didn't you?" Sirius started lathering up his own hair, and as the thought of getting off faded into the distance, the swelling of his cock faded away aswell.

"Did we _ever_!" James shouted over the sound of running water. "For _two_ hours, Pads! She was--"

"James do you think that Lily would really appreciate you talking about the intimate details of your sex life with people other than her?" Remus interrupted, using a stern voice as he pushed Sirius under the tap to wash the soap out of his eyes. Once you've gotten soap in your eyes, you're bound to have it happen again. Well, that was the case with Sirius, anyway.

"Uhh... no, but I _have_ to tell you guys. You're my best mates."

Remus sighed. "You don't _have_ to tell us _anything_... and, look, as much as I like you James, I don't want to hear about your 'conquests' with Lily."

Sirius made a face at Remus. "Speak for yourself." With that, Sirius called over towards his friend. "She was what, Prongsie?"

"Loud! And she bit me a lot... you can still see the marks on my shoulder." James said, and, by the tone of his voice, Remus could tell he was just beaming.

"Good on you, mate! Did she do anything freaky?" Sirius urged, as he carefully combed the conditioner through his hair.

"Erm, well, describe freaky?"

"Lets see... tying up, whips, chains, handcuffs... or... slapping you around just to get off on the sound of you screaming."

"Sirius that's not something you should be asking him..." Remus said in a quiet tone as he finished rinsing off his body, and watched as the soap swirled and collected at the bottom of the stall and was sucked down by the drain. "It's really not your business what they do in the bedroom."

"Oi, yes it is – he knows what we do, so I don't see wh--"

"WHAT?!"

Before Sirius could speak, James's laugh was heard over the rising steam. "Quite the little animal in the sack, aren't you Remus?"

"EXCUSE ME?!" Remus gaped at the foggy figure of James as he watched him scrubbing his head.

"Sirius told me all about that little escapade a few days ago... you know - when you screamed and moaned louder than you ever had before when he had you tied to the bedposts."

Remus's eyes snapped towards Sirius in a glare. "...That wasn't mppffh!"

With lightning speed, Sirius clapped his hand over Remus' mouth, and leaned in towards him, his eyes flashing when he spoke, his voice coming out a mere whisper beside Remus' ear. "Just let me have this one, okay? I can't have James knowing that I don't dominate anymore, all right? My integrity would be damaged... he'd tell everyone that I was takin' it up the arse and not complaining one bit about it." Sirius' face morphed into one that resembled a puppy begging for forgiveness. "Please keep it secret?"

It was true. The dominance between the two had indeed switched. Sirius no longer wanted to be on top, and nearly every time Remus would suggest that he did top, he'd only end up doing it because Remus talked him into it – telling Sirius how wicked it felt to have his hard length inside of him. Stroking Sirius's ego (among other things), usually caused him to give in and decide to top, first of all, because he wasn't able to resist Remus' big amber eyes, and – secondly, it made Sirius feel manly to have Remus writhing underneath him and begging for more. Sirius had indeed, become an almost exclusive bottom – and he liked it that way. The underlying fact of the matter (or more commonly known as the truth) was that the wolf inside of Remus had had enough of being dominated over, and, had decided that enough was enough, and that his partner would not execute such power over him any longer. Sirius had taken kindly to Remus' order, and confessed that he rather preferred to be on the bottom, much to Remus' surprise.

Sirius dropped his hand from Remus' mouth, waiting to hear his answer.

"What was that, Remus?" James said, his ears straining to hear what Remus was about to say.

"I was going to say that wasn't a few days ago, it was a week ago." Remus answered as he stared at Sirius.

In a moment's time, any anger that Remus could have been harboring was washed away when Sirius' face melted into a sweet smile and he leant forward - kissing Remus' lips gently.

"Thank-you." Sirius' lips retained their sweet smile.

Remus nodded. "Just don't let me catch anyone talking about our sex life again, or you'll have hell to pay for, and no sex life to talk about, period. Understood?"

Along with the switch of positions in bed, Remus' attitude had taken on one of a more aggressive lover, and he didn't stand to be pushed around by his mate. If he made demands of Sirius, they were always met, and always carried through with the highest of pleasure and hunger to perform them. Their attitudes had, in private, taken on much the same as their status as dog and a Werewolf. One always in command, and the other – always eager to please until thrown a treat and told 'good job'.

Sirius nodded. "Yes."

All three boys had finished showering, and after shutting off the tap, Remus lent forward and kissed Sirius gently on the lips. "That's a good boy."

Sirius grinned at the words, and a faint blush found its way to his cheeks. Stepping out, he first handed Remus a towel, then found one for himself. Remus nodded in thanks and quickly covered his bottom half and watched as James walked out of his own stall.

"You two never answered me." James sighed, roughly toweling his hair dry.

"...You said something?" Sirius asked, as he walked towards the mirror. "I didn't catch it."

Wrapping the towel around his waist, James followed suit, and moved to stand beside Sirius. "Yeah because you were ignoring me."

"Oi, was not. I was simply using my selective hearing. And, it just happened to tune you out in favour of hearing something else." Sirius grinned as he looked at James.

Before James could start anything, and he had readily opened his mouth, insult on hand - Remus cut in, towel wrapped around his shoulders. "James... we should go."

"...Where're you goin'?" Sirius turned and looked from Remus to James and back to Remus.

"Shopping." Remus answered simply, water dripping down from his hair to fall on his nose and finally to the floor.

"Ooh... what for?"

"Nothing that concerns you, Padfoot." James said, eyes narrowed at his friend.

Completely ignoring James's remark, Remus ran a hand through his hair and spoke gently. "For your present."

"My present?!"

"Yes. Your birthday party is in a few days, and, I have yet to get you anything. I've asked permission to go to Hogsmeade from Dumbledore, claiming that I needed emergency school supplies and my friends couldn't offer me anything."

"That was my idea." James interjected.

Nodding, Remus glanced at James before looking back at Sirius and continuing. "Aye, so it'll have to be fast."

Sirius crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "You already know what you're getting me then?"

Grinning, Remus leant up and kissed Sirius cheek. "Of course I do."

Sirius wrinkled his eyebrows together. "But I thought you weren't getting me an— Have a good time!" His confused face immediately morphed into a great big smile.

Shaking his head, Remus walked out of the bathroom and towards the bedroom. At Remus' leave, Sirius immediately rounded on James.

"What's he getting me, Prongs?"

"A hearing aid."

"What?!"

"Nevermind..." Sighing, James left Sirius in the bathroom alone to try to figure out just what the hell a hearing aid _was_ in the first place.

* * *

**Author's Notes::**

WOW. Has it EVER been a long time since the last chapter update, huh? No, I am NOT dead, and yes, I am STILL going to finish this story. Most sincere apologies for making you all wait, what, an ice age for the next update. I promise I'll try to get the next chapter done within a month.

School you know, it's a jackass. -sighs-

In anycase, I do hope you enjoy this chapter, and please - if you've any ideas for Sirius' Birthday, LET ME KNOW, okay? I'd be much abliged to hear them. Let me know what you think about the change in Sirius-Remus dominence thing, too... aye?

-GRIN-

Talk soon, much love to all of you faithful readers, who, through all the time I was idle - sent me messages - hoping that I wasn't dead, threatening me to continue, and guilting me into writing. Without you, the world would be lost. LOL.

Toodles!!!!!


	32. NOT A CHAPTER, It's a message for you

Dear Readers, avid fans and my favorite, the RABID fans:

I realize that I've kept you all waiting for the next chapter for MUCH longer than a month – but you have to realize that I havn't got all the time in the world to dedicate to this story as I did in the past. As much as I would love to write for it, the place I am currently in my life – is not the place I was in when I started this story.

We're selling our house soon, so that means that I have to get off my ass (as much as I don't want too…) and find a job, and that means working full time so that I can move out with my cousin and brother before the house isn't ours anymore. So that doesn't exactly give me a lot of time for writing. That, and it seems that my creative juices have been zapped.

This, however, does not mean that I will quit writing it anytime soon! Fear not, I have many plans for this story, they're just long in the coming. And I'm sure that you've noticed, but the style I write in, and my previous characterization of Remus, Sirius, Lily, James, Peter ect. will/has change(d), as I myself have changed. I will try as well as I can to keep them true to who they were before (the characters you love), but I will also be adding different dynamics to their personalities as I see fit.

So all of you who are leaving me reviews, and demanding that I write another chapter 'or else', I will ask to please stop. Being threatened into writing isn't exactly going to make me write anything any faster – okay? Encouraging words work much better than threats – even if they are for play. Right? Right. :D

In anycase, I'd just like to say thank-you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who still wants to read this story. Most of all? Thankyou for your patience with me. I honestly don't mean to put it off, forget, or not have the time to write the story - it just... happens. That I'm sorry for. Tell you what, I'll do my best to write at least a page or two everyday from now until I get it done, I suppose that may take a couple weeks – but you will all know that I'm currently in the writing process. I promise.

The next chapter, I suppose, will be James/Remus going shopping, and then Sirius' birthday. It'll be extra long, because I've made you all wait so long. Or perhaps, it'll come in two parts. The leather pants will not make a showing for another few chapters or so, but it'll absolutely be worth it when they do show up, I guarantee!

**Roxanne** – GIRL. Cool down, hm? I'm not dead, I'm still alive. I'm here. I shall not die on you without letting you know previously, dear. :D

In anycase, feel free to leave a few suggestions for the story, things you'd like to see happen, and I'll definitely take them into consideration. Also? Sorry about this, you know… the chapter alert – and all you get is this little note from me… heh… I bet you were disappointed upon seeing it, huh? In anycase! I must go work on my resume before my mother castrates objects I do not have from my body.

Kaylie

xoxoxo


	33. Chapter 32

Hogsmeade.

The little town is positively buzzing with activity. Witches and wizards window shopping: pointing avidly at the little decorations on display in the windows, pointing at the candies, the games, the dresses, the flowers. Lovers walk hand in hand, gazing lovingly into each others eyes, single wizards leer at the pretty witches in short skirts and knee high socks.

Ahh, the onslaught of summer is creeping along the sunny stony sidewalks, warming the leaves on the trees, and the pants of most young persons in their prime. Which is precisely when James Potter, prankster extraordinaire, decides to make a comment to his mate Remus.

"Look at them! They're positively drooling over eachother! I tell you Remus, if it weren't for Lily--"

"You'd be doing the exact same thing?" Remus supplies, a sly smile lighting his face.

James pauses for a moment, blinking, before launching into his counter attack: "Hey now, that's completely unfair,"

"And entirely true."

"What is this!" James asks in a rather loud voice; causing a young witch nearby to jump, "Attack Potter With Ruthless Insults day?"

"I'm not attacking, James," Remus sighs, his voice alive with unspent laughter, "…I'm merely stating the obvious."

"In a very cruel way, might I mention." James narrows his eyes at Remus, before directly changing his attitude as Zonko's comes into sight. "Oooh, Remus, Remus! Look!" He grabs onto Remus' arm and points (almost madly) in the direction of the famed store. His eyes are huge and glassy behind his spectacles. "Zonko's…"

"You say that as if it's a shrine to something entirely more important than it really is."

"Remus Lupin!" James gasps, his eyes going wide as he stands infront of his longtime friend. "How dare you! Are you a Marauder, or are you a Marauder!"

"Actually," Remus interjects, "I'm a werewolf _and_ a Marauder."

"So does that silly little fact make you any less inclined to pranks?"

"No, but my studiousness, and my prefect status does."

James frowns, "Tell me mate," He gestures loosely with his hand, squinting against the noon sun as they make their way to Zonko's, "How long has that stick been up your arse? And exactly how snugly is it stuck there?"

With a grin, Remus reaches forwards and pulls the door open, sending a little bell into a jingling titter, "Approximately seventeen years, and snug as a bug, thank you."

"…I don't want to think of a bug in your arse. Let alone anyone's arse. It's completely unsanitary and reminds me of Peter." James shudders and makes a slight face at the mental image, before making his way towards the huge display of fireworks.

"Peter's got a bug up his bum?" Remus tilts his head, his eyebrows furrowing as he absently runs his fingers along the Super Blast X9000 (an absolutely brilliant firework).

"Maybe. Or perhaps it's just something akin to a… leaf, or perhaps a fish."

"…A fish?" Remus' eyebrow raises in disbelief. "Honestly James. A fish."

"Maybe a worm?"

"A worm is a bug."

"A worm isn't a bug, a worm is… a worm, is a worm, is a worm." James shrugs, his hands moving as he gestures around the store, "Take this store for instance,"

"This store is a bug…? Or is it a fish?" Remus wrinkles his nose slightly, beginning to completely lose himself to James' logic.

"Neither! It's like…" James ponders for a moment, before snapping his fingers in absolute triumph, "It's like a cage. A giant, sparkling, cage."

"And what is this cage capturing?"

James grabs onto Remus' shoulders, and regards him very seriously, "The childlike fascination of twirly-gigs, and bubbles."

Remus blinks. And then blinks again. He regards James silently for a few moments, before shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts, "That doesn't make sense."

James laughs and nods, turning to a firework and lifting it up. He holds it out to Remus, "Take this firework for example. What does it look like to you?"

"…A firework."

"No, no," James shakes his head, "Look closer."

Remus' eyes wander over the long tube. He goes through a multitude of ideas and shapes in his mind, before settling on the most appropriate, "…Sperm."

James grins then, and his eyes sparkle behind his glasses, "You're far more alike to Sirius than you think you are."

Remus' cheeks colour slightly, before he raises his chin with determination, "Well if you're so brilliant, you tell me what it looks like."

"Imagination. Colors. _Life_."

"Life?"

James nods, chest deep in his explanation, "It's like an orgasm. Orgasm's are life. They explode, they're feeling in its most purest form, they create."

"What do they create?" Remus asks, tilting his head.

James smiles, and gently puts the firework back into its canister, "…Life… love."

"And to think this all rooted from a stick up my arse..." Remus shakes his head, wondering how exactly it is that Lily follows James' train of thought on a regular basis, but immediately knowing why she's so in love with him at the same time. He's full of passion.

"Hey, if the glove fits…" Smirking, James wanders towards the exploding snaps and dungbombs, "What're you planning on getting ol' Paddies anyway?"

"…A jacket."

"He's got tons of jackets, Remus."

Remus picks up a dungbomb, noting the strength of it for future use, "He hasn't a leather jacket."

James glances over his shoulder at Remus, eyebrows furrowed, "What does he need a leather jacket for?"

"His graduation present." Remus answers nonchalantly, and places the little brown bomb back on the shelf.

"…Alright. This requires my full attention. And for that, we have to leave. I'm getting distracted far too easily. Come my furry friend – to the outdoors we go." James takes Remus' hand in his own, and pulls him out of the store, not at all registering the looks he's receiving for holding another bloke's hand.

Once outside, James crosses his arms over his chest and regards Remus with a very interested expression. "What's a leather jacket got to do with his graduation present?"

"Everything." Remus smiles slightly at the confusion on James' face.

Raising his eyebrow, James nods slightly, "I see. Okay. So tell me…" James mutters before stepping forwards, "What's his graduation present?"

"You'll have to wait until graduation to see it."

Throwing his hands in the air, James rolls his eyes and scoffs, before dramatically turning and walking towards the local leather shoppe, "I don't know why I even try, Remus! I don't even know why!"

"Because it's in your nature. It's Sirius rubbing off on you."

James makes a slight face, his lips pursing as Remus walks up beside him, "I don't want any part of Sirius rubbing on me…"

Grinning, Remus shrugs, "His part is rather lovely, if I do say so myself."

"I don't care about my best mate's pecker, Remus! For that matter I don't care for peckers, cocks, dicks, OR anyone's meat and two veg!"

"Meat and two veg?"

"Or so I've heard, yes…" James speaks in a slightly awed voice, as he pushes his way valiantly through the door to the shoppe.

Remus grins as he watches the way James's arms fly out to the side in a great flourish, and as his robe whooshes with the sudden warmth penetrating the leather shoppe. Walking in behind him, Remus immediately begins judging every single leather jacket he comes upon. He walks slowly along the rows of jackets as James stops to chat up the shoppe owner. For the first time, Remus is thankful for James' big mouth, and inability tosimply _not _talk about Quidditch.

The aisles are small, and packed together, but Remus doesn't mind. He thinks it's something like one of the trendy little thrift shops back home in London. More like the place on Centre street, where everything is packed insidiously into little spaces, creating perfect pockets of fabric for moths to live and flourish. He runs his fingers along a black leather jacket, and can't be sure if he can see the pores from the skin of the animal it came from, or the fake ridges and bumps of a fake piece of leather.

However, after a long time of searching (an hour, tops), and an even longer time of James chatting up the store clerk, Remus finds _The Jacket_.

"James!"

"…So I says to the guy, I says—What Remus? No! No that's not what I said to him… Just a second…" James stops and turns, looking towards Remus with a bit of an annoyed look. "What Remus?"

"I've found it! Look!" Remus' eyes are lit from the inside as he pulls a great black leather jacket off of the hook it's called home for the last two years.

The Jacket has a silver chain connecting two pockets on one of the lapels, (one further up than the other), and buckles, and zips, and more chains galore. The jacket – as a whole – is rather flashy, and complicated. It looks rich, it feels aged to perfection, and smells amazing to Remus' werewolf-y nostrils.

James raises his eyebrow, before excusing himself from the front of the store. He then makes his way towards the jacket, and feels himself being to grin as he moves closer. He can practically _smell_ how much it's worth.

"…Wow, Remus. This… this is really something…" James reaches forwards and runs his long, seeker fingers over the aged leather, and peers into Remus' eyes. "Is it real?"

"Real leather? Yes." Remus nods, and holds the leather jacket back, and looks at it as if it's a long lost lover. "Do you think he'll like it?"

"Bugger, liking it,he'll love it!" James announces, quite loudly, as he reaches forwards and pulls the arms of the jacket out, grinning stupidly at the delicious creaking noise the leather makes under his fingers. "He'll definitely love it…"

Beaming with pride, Remus reaches and grabs the price tag, ripping it off and not even caring how much it costs, he marches in a determined fashion up to the clerk. "I'll take this one."

"…That one costs a good 500 galleons, kid. Do you got that much?" The clerk snaps a bubble with his gum, and hands the price tag back to Remus.

"I… no…" Remus stops, and his entire body sags with sorrow. He thinks for a moment, before brightening again. "Can I pay you in installments?"

"How long do you plan on dragging' it out, kid?"

Remus does a quick calculation in his head, before answering: "Four weeks. I'll give you 200 up front, and pay the other 300 in four weeks."

"Where did you get 200 galleons, Remus?" James bends over, whispering into Remus' ear. Because he knows, for a _fact_, that Remus has no more than 10 galleons in his pocket.

"I asked my grandmamma for some money. I told her I needed all new school supplies, because Peter drenched all of my books and such with a disintigrating potion, and mama and papa couldn't afford to give me any spare money, and that she would please not tell them about it." With a wink, Remus looked towards the clerk. "How about it, then?"

"…I don't know…"

"It's a birthday gift… for Sirius Black. He'd love it, I'm sure of it. Please can you let me pay like this? I'll even invest in paying you interest, if that's what'll sell your mind."

"Now, now, I don't know who this Sirius Black bloke is, but whoever he is… well… is he part of that Black family?"

"…Er, yes. Yes that _would_ explain his last name…" Remus answers, his brow furrowed slightly.

"…Oh." The clerk mumbles something under his breath, before shaking his head, and waving his hands about. So it seems Sirius' last name has finally done something good for him in the long run. "Fine, good. You can pay me in installments. But don't worry about the interest… that'd be dishonest."

James puts on his metaphorical sunglasses against the brightness of Remus' grin, and mentions that he's going to wait outside, mumbling something about how it's too bright in this store. Remus manages to leave the store not ten minutes later, a stupid, happy grin plastered to his stupid, happy face.

James scowls.

"It's _just_ a jacket, Remus. You don't have to look so ridiculous about it…"

"I know," Remus' grin falters slightly, if only for James' poor eyes. "But it's The Jacket, James. It's the only one that'll work. I know it."

"Work for _what_!" James barks, suddenly, and oddly – very annoyed.

Remus stops walking, and looks at James, his face suddenly devoid of all the happiness and self pride he just felt not two seconds ago. "His graduation gift… I… James, what's wrong? Why're you looking at me like that?"

James sighs heavily, and shrugs. "Nothing. Nevermind. Lets go get some butter beers."

"No, James… really. What's wrong with you? You were fine not five minutes ago."

He mumbles something under his breath, and walks away from Remus, crossing his arms over his chest.

"…What?"

"I said…" James repeats exhaustively. "Nevermind what I said. It doesn't matter." In half of two seconds – being one second – James huffs. "You're gift is better than whatever I got him, which, by the way – sucks… and… and he'll really only appreciate your gift, because it's so great, and mine won't matter…. and… it just.. it doesn't matter. I don't matter anymore. I… he… you…" James gives up, and trails off, beginning to pout.

Remus sighs, and reaches forwards, placing his hand on James's arm. "James, are you really upset because… because you think Sirius has replaced you?"

"No! No of course not… yes." James sighs and looks down, feeling completely lost and oddly compelled to cry. "Yes Merlin help me yes I think he has."

"With who, James? Me?"

James shrugs, keeping his eyes downcast. "Maybe…"

"James… Jamie you don't replace a best friend with a lover. Yes, given, you can be best friends with your lover… but… you can't…" Remus sighs, finding this slightly harder to explain in words than he thought it to be. "He hasn't replaced you, Jamie. I promise you. I'm nothing like you, and for him to replace you with someone who isn't like you just… it doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, but he never… he doesn't talk to me the same way anymore. I… I feel like he's grown up, and left me behind."

"He hasn't left you anywhere, James." Remus says, and directs himself and James over to a bench infront of the Three Broomsticks. "People change, it's a given. You're both going through a lot of changes, and… well you can't expect to stay in a teenagers frame of mind forever."

"Oh but I want to, Remus!" James practically whines, his eyes going wide behind his glasses. "It's bullocks to grow up. I don't want to end up like my father."

"James, for Merlin's sake… you're not your father, you havn't lost Sirius, and you need to stop… stop blaming yourself, or being upset because _heaven forbid_ Sirius isn't miserable to the core!"

James sits stunned. Staring openly at Remus as if he's just grown another head, and three extra sets of arms. "…What?"

"You've only ever been happy if Sirius is miserable. Haven't you noticed that? It's idiotic! Why would you want your presumably best friend to be upset, just so you can remain pleasantly oblivious?"

"I… That's not true. I don't want him to be upset."

"So then why is it, that now when he's happy, you feel like you've suddenly lost him, and _woe is me_, you don't know how to fix it!" Remus rolls his eyes at James' wide eyes. "So then when it comes to me doing something for the first time that may be better than something you've _ever_ done for him, you get mad. Because _that_ means the attention won't be on you for having the best gift - it'll be on me. And it kills you because you know it's true."

James has no idea what to say to Remus' accusations, so he gets up, and lets out a string of curses as he storms away towards the school. Letting out a terse breath, Remus grabs his bag, and storms after him, thoroughly intent on, simply because he's angry; fucking Sirius into the _floor_.

. - . - . - .

"Sirius!"

"Yessir?"

"Bed. _Now_."

"...But I was just eating thi---"

"_Bed_!"

"...Jesus, fine, alright... I'm going..."

Sirius regards Remus with an odd look as he drops his sandwich - which, by the way, is ham and lettuce on rye - and starts up the dorm stairs.

"Why're you beings so forceful?"

Remus rolls his eyes. "Because I'm horny. Now get upstairs."

"Bloody hell, stop _pushing_ me, Remus! I can guaruntee you that it won't get me hard. OUCH. Damnit!" Sirius stops and grabs Remus' arms, shoving him against the wall with a grunt. "Piss off, Remus! Stop bloody pushing me!"

Remus simply stares at Sirius, his eyes hard before he shoves Sirius away and storms towards the dorm room. _Great_, Sirius thinks,_ this is going to be fun..._

Sirius follows Remus into the room, and stands by the door as Remus throws the bag in his hand down onto the ground, and turns to look out the window.

"Alright," Sirius starts in a slow, gentle tone. "What's got your knickers in such a bunch?"

"Nothing."

"My arse. Tell me, Remus."

Remus refuses to answer for a long while, and instead crosses his arms over his chest as he turns and stares at Sirius. "Your bloody best friend has got his damn attitude in a twist, because he thinks that you've replaced him with me. What sort of bull is that? You havn't replaced anyone, as far as I'm concerned! And doesn't James realize that it goes two ways! I mean, he's got Lily, and he shags her into next week nearly every night! He's practically repla--- he's being hypocritical!"

"...What?"

"James! He's being hypocritical! I got your presant, which, by the way, cost me an arm and a leg and some other organ that's vital to my existance, and he's got his bloody knickers in a twist because it's better than what he got you, and he's pouting like a ruddy child about it because Merlin no, Remus got a better gift than James did, and oh no, Remus will be the center of Sirius' attention."

Sirius is momentarily distracted by the idea that Remus spent so much on his presant, then tries very hard -for his own goodof course, to pay attention to the problem at hand. "But... how is that being hypocritical? I mean... you... jumped in like seven different directions, Remus. Go back to square one and explain this to me."

Remus lets out a terse breath, and shakes his head. "No. Nevermind. Just... get your clothes off, and get on the bed."

"...No way in hell am I getting naked when you're mad, Remus."

"_Do it_!"

"No!"

"Oh for heaven's sake..." Remus mutters, as he sits down hard on the window sill, looking out the window in a desperately upset mood.

Sirius sighs, and runs his hands through his hair as he wishes he were back downstairs with his sandwich. He makes his way slowly over to Remus, and sits down infront of him. "Remus... really, what's bothering you so much about the fact that James has some problem that doesn't even involve you for the most part?"

"It does involve me! I'm the person he thinks has replaced him! Of course it involves me."

"Well... stop worrying about it. It's not your problem to worry about. I'll talk to him for christ's sake."

Remus shrugs, and continues looking out the window. Sirius lets out a slightly annoyed breath before looking towards the bag that's been haphazardly thrown onto the ground.

"...Is that my gift?"

Remus looks towards the bag, then towards Sirius, then towards the bag. He's in the air faster than Sirius can manage to comprehend, andthe bag is soon safely guarded in his arms. "Err... No."

"...Then why'd you jump on it as if it was the last chocolate peice in the world?" Sirius grins as he stands up and begins eyeing the brown bag.

"Beacuse... because... well... Books! These are books."

"From a leather shoppe...?"

"Oh bloody hell..." Remus murmers, before grabbing his wand and pointing it at Sirius' body. "Obliviate!"

After a few careful seconds of hiding the bag under his bed, and behind clothing, Remus stands up, and smiles brightly at Sirius. Sirius blinks a few times, and can't recall how he got to this room in the first place.

"...Remus!" He brightens considerably. "I thought you were shopping with Prongsy?"

"Yes, well, we couldn't find anything." Remus offers with a shrug.

"Oh..." Sirius seems crestfallen, then smiles suddenly. 'I've a sandwich downstairs I want to get back to... care to join? You look a bit peckish."

"Yes. That'd be lovely, thankyou." Remus smiles, as he takes Sirius offered hand, and follows him downstairs.

.-.-.-.-.-

OI OI. Finishhheeddd. It was a bit short, I admit, but at LEAST IT WAS AN UPDATE. hooorahhh! next chapter? partyyyyy timmeeeee. hoorah! i'm not sure how long it'll take me to write, but, well, GO NUTS, KIDS! hope you enjoyed this. -nodnodnod-


	34. YET ANOTHER MESSAGE BUT GOOD THIS TIME

Okay, so, I've gotten over probably twenty e-mails asking me to continue writing WOTM, and, though I feel the writing I've done in the past is excessively juvinile (read, Siri, Remi, crying, and all other such angsty coinsidences), I've decided to give it another go.The individual named _'The Zen Garden'_ has inspired me to continue. The way he/she wrote the response to my story touched me. The way it was worded, the wisdom behind those words.

My writing style has changed dramatically since the last time I've posted. The prespective that you will be reading it in will have also changed. Example:

_"Yes," Remus answers, "I was there,"  
"Wasn't it brilliant?" Sirius' grin widens as he strikes a pose, one hand behind his head, the other at his hip. "Did you see it when she did this? Merlin, burned into my mind forever."  
"Yes, Sirius," Remus sighs, and shakes his head, not able to help the slight smile that lights his lips. "She was fabulous. Grade A, top of the line."  
"Now you're just being sarcastic."  
"I can't help it, it's in my nature."  
_

Different. I'm a lot more mature now than I was then. Having gone through (and am still dealing with) the death of my grandmother. I've gone through a lot of changes personally, mentally, and I doubt I would be able to write up to the same emotional standpoint as I did before, though I'm pretty sure I can try and probably succeed.

I don't know when the next chapter will be out, as I'm going to cringe and do a bit of re-reading, and decide where the story is going. I can write it before work most days, so perhaps within the next month or so I can have the next chapter out. Again, the frequency of the chapters posted will purely be determined by the spare time I have after work, after having a life. LOL

Thankyou for remaining so loyal to my writing, it has truly touched me to know it has impacted people so deeply.

Love always,  
Kaylie ie, Raei


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